Hong Kong police arrest 29 suspected of selling bank accounts to crime syndicates for laundering fraud proceeds
- Suspects are holders of bank accounts linked to 23 online scams and five money-laundering cases
- ‘Investigation reveals most were paid a few hundred to several thousand dollars each to sell their bank accounts,’ Inspector Tang Chi-shing says
Hong Kong police have arrested 29 suspects in a 20-day crackdown targeting individuals who sell their bank accounts to crime syndicates that use them to collect and launder the proceeds of fraud.
The 20 men and nine women, aged from 19 to 64, were holders of bank accounts linked to 23 online scams and five money-laundering cases, totalling more than HK$47 million (US$5.9 million).
“The investigation revealed that most of them were paid a few hundred to several thousand dollars each to sell their bank accounts,” Inspector Tang Chi-shing of Kwun Tong district’s technology and financial crime squad said on Monday.
He added the monetary reward they received depended on the number of bank accounts they sold and how long they were used by syndicates.
The suspects included construction site workers, housewives and unemployed individuals.
The offences they were arrested for included fraud, obtaining property by deception and money laundering. During the operation, police seized mobile phones, related bank documents and bank cards.
According to the force, the 23 cybercrime cases included online romance scams, e-shopping fraud, employment scams and sham investment deals, with losses totalling HK$27.5 million.