Hong Kong police arrest 70 in crackdown on online scams, selling bank accounts to crime syndicates for money laundering
- Police say suspects, aged between 19 and 65, are holders of bank accounts linked to 66 cases involving HK$67 million in losses
- Highest amount of money lost was HK$10 million in case involving 73-year-old woman who was lured by investment plan
Hong Kong police have arrested 70 suspects during a 19-day crackdown targeting online scams and individuals who sell their bank accounts to crime syndicates that use them to launder the proceeds of fraud.
The force on Saturday said the 49 men and 21 women, aged between 19 and 65, were holders of bank accounts linked to 66 cases, involving HK$67 million (US$8.6 million) in losses.
They were arrested between October 23 and November 10 on suspicion of deception, obtaining property by deception and money laundering.
Inspector Leung Po-yan of Kwun Tong district’s technology and financial crime squad said such crimes were becoming “increasingly serious”.
“By arresting a large number of stooge account holders and actively pursuing their criminal liabilities, we are cracking down on the use of such accounts in a comprehensive manner to block the channels through which criminal syndicates handle the proceeds of money-laundering offences,” Leung said.
The cases involved 131 victims, comprising 62 men and 69 women aged between 15 and 76. There were five types of cons – social media hijacking, romance swindles, online shopping fraud, employment scams and sham investment deals.