Hong Kong customs arrests 4, including siblings, in crackdown on syndicate accused of laundering HK$600 million using shell company
- Suspects include owner of money exchange company and her two siblings, source familiar with case says
- Money changer allegedly dealt with suspicious remittance transactions through 12 bank accounts of shell company, according to customs
Hong Kong customs has arrested four people, including three siblings, in a crackdown on a money-laundering syndicate accused of processing HK$600 million (US$76.6 million) in two and half years through the bank accounts of a shell company.
The suspects included a 37-year-old owner of a money exchange company and her 34-year-old brother, who worked in her shop, and 39-year-old sister who served as the director of an investment company, a source familiar with the case said on Friday.
He said the money changer and the investment firm occupied two adjacent ground-floor shops in North Point.
According to the Customs and Excise Department, the fourth suspect – a 35-year-old man – worked as a compliance officer at the currency exchange company.
Inspector Billy Au Wing-cheung of customs’ financial investigation bureau said intelligence suggested the money changer allegedly handled a large amount of suspicious remittance transactions through 12 bank accounts of a shell company set up by the compliance officer.
“The shell company claimed that it provided computer trading and technology consulting services, but no actual business was involved,” he said.
He added there were no tax records about the company’s dealings, while the compliance officer had only reported his income from the money changer to the Inland Revenue Department.
“In two and a half years, the shell company’s accounts handled more than 1,800 transactions involving HK$600 million,” Au said, referring to the period between January 2021 and July 2023.
