Hong Kong police arrest 4 in crackdown on fraud syndicate suspected of scamming residents out of HK$23 million
- Suspected ringleader, three followers held for allegedly conspiring to defraud and possessing offensive weapon
- ‘Investigation shows the syndicate had been in operation for about a year,’ inspector says
Inspector Tong King-pui of the Kowloon City anti-triad squad said on Thursday the gang’s alleged ringleader and his three followers were apprehended two days earlier during a raid on the operations centre in an industrial unit on Ma Tau Kok Road.
Inside the premises, officers seized HK$330,000, 45 bottles of expensive liquor worth HK$150,000, a retractable baton, 57 bank cards, 40 mobile phones, three computers and account books, he said.
Intelligence indicated the syndicate moved its operations centre to Kowloon City about three months ago, but “investigation showed the syndicate had been in operation for about a year”, according to Tong.
He said the gang was linked to 41 deception cases, including online investment frauds, internet love swindles and employment and low-interest loan scams. The largest involved an investment fraud that duped a resident out of HK$7 million.
According to the force, the syndicate’s mastermind also instructed his members to look for stooge bank accounts on different channels to launder the scammed money, as well as offer cash to their holders.
Stooge account holders loan or sell their bank accounts to fraud syndicates to collect scammed money and launder crime proceeds in exchange for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
“The ringleader then directed his members to withdraw the laundered crime proceeds from ATMs or buy high-value products, such as liquor, which were later resold to cash in,” Tong said.
The four men included a mainland Chinese visitor with a two-way permit – a travel document that allows holders to enter Hong Kong.
Chief Inspector Law Chin-hon of the Kowloon City district crime unit said the syndicate recruited the mainland man as a driver to help deliver luxury items bought with illegal funds.
The four, aged 26 to 46, were detained on suspicion of conspiring to defraud and possessing an offensive weapon.
As of Thursday morning, the suspects were still being held for questioning.
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“In this operation, code-named ‘Blendjade’, police have successfully broken up this organised fraud and money laundering syndicate,” Law said.
He said the operation was still under way and further arrests were possible.
The chief inspector urged residents not to lend, rent or sell their bank accounts to others for handling funds of unknown origin.
In Hong Kong, money laundering is punishable by up to 14 years and a HK$5 million fine.
The city recorded 39,824 cases of fraud last year, up by 42.6 per cent over the 27,923 reports in 2022.
Losses went up by 89 per cent to HK$9.1 billion in 2023 from HK$4.8 billion the year before.
