Hong Kong student among 6 arrested as police clamp down on cross-border syndicate laundering HK$100 million
- Postsecondary student suspected of using cryptocurrency e-wallets as part of money laundering process that involved mainland bank accounts and reselling valuables
- Police also arrested five others, including alleged ringleader, watch shop employee and two accused of using bank cards to buy resaleable goods in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong postsecondary student was among six people arrested in a clamp down on a cross-border syndicate that laundered more than HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) in suspected crime proceeds, police on Friday said.
According to police, the student was suspected of helping the group to launder illegal funds by using e-wallet accounts to trade cryptocurrency, concealing the origins and flow of crime proceeds.
Senior Inspector Chu Ming-man of the Hong Kong Island anti-triad squad said the digital coins were ultimately transferred to e-wallet accounts overseas to evade detection.
“An investigation showed the syndicate had handled more than HK$1 million [in crime proceeds] a day and laundered more than HK$100 million [in three months],” he added.
The force began investigating the syndicate in late April after receiving intelligence, prompting officers to seek help from their mainland Chinese counterparts.