Hong Kong police arrest 100 in fraud, money-laundering crackdown after 295 people scammed out of HK$180 million
- Suspects arrested on suspicion of money laundering and obtaining property by deception, police say, with fraudsters using range of tactics to swindle funds
- Businessman, 74, loses HK$23 million in largest single case uncovered after being lured into transferring money to stooge accounts to invest in cryptocurrency
The force said on Wednesday that the suspects – 75 men and 25 women – were detained on suspicion of money laundering and obtaining property by deception in the operation, code-named “Widepeak”, which ended on Monday.
Chief Inspector Cheng Ki-fung of the Sham Shui Po district crime squad said most of the suspects were holders of stooge accounts and their occupations included cleaners, chefs and decoration workers.
Some bank account holders loan or sell their bank accounts to criminal syndicates to collect scammed money and launder the proceeds of crime in exchange for money, police said.
Cheng said the suspects were linked to 82 cases of deception in which 295 victims were duped out of more than HK$180 million (US$24.2 million).
He said the cases included investment scams, employment fraud, internet love scams, e-shopping swindles and telephone deception.
Inspector Wong Sze-ki said an investment scam that targeted a 74-year-old businessman accounted for the largest single financial loss of HK$23 million.
“The man met an online acquaintance on a social media platform and he was lured into transferring HK$23 million into stooge accounts to invest in cryptocurrency,” Wong said.
An online shopping scam case saw 54 victims cheated out of more than HK$70,000 after they bought what they thought were discount tickets for travel, theme parks and hotel staycations.
The inspector advised the public to use the force’s “Scameter” search engine, accessible through the CyberDefender website or app, to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes or call the force’s 18222 “Anti-Scam Helpline”.
The search engine contains information that can help users identify suspicious web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and IP addresses.
Cheng said police launched the operation after a nearly 30 per cent increase in the number of deception cases reported in Sham Shui Po district, up to 2,419 last year from 1,873 in 2022.
The district logged 706 deception cases in the first four months of this year.
Superintendent Chen Chi-cheong, an assistant Sham Shui Po district commander, said cracking down on stooge accounts was an “essential and effective method” of dismantling fraud networks as criminal syndicates used them to collect and launder their ill-gotten gains.
He reminded the public not to lend or sell their bank accounts to others to handle cash from unknown sources as they could face money laundering charges.
The offence is punishable by up to 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
The city recorded a 42.6 per cent increase in all types of deception cases last year with 39,824 reports filed, up from 27,923 in 2022.
Financial losses from deception cases went up by 89 per cent to HK$9.1 billion in 2023 from HK$4.8 billion recorded in the previous year.
Chen said more than 200 holders of stooge accounts were arrested by Sham Shui Po police for money laundering and conspiracy to launder money in the past year.
He added the Department of Justice had approved prosecution, or charges have already been filed, against 111 of them.
He said 11 of the 111 people had already been convicted on money laundering and conspiracy to money launder charges and been sentenced to between four and 28 months in prison.
