Hong Kong police arrest 7 for alleged links to transnational money-laundering syndicate
- Officers join forces with Singaporean police and Interpol to apprehend suspects behind rising technical support scam cases in city
Hong Kong police have arrested seven individuals allegedly involved in a transnational money-laundering syndicate running technical support scams following a joint operation with officers from Singapore and Interpol.
The syndicate was involved in laundering more than HK$100 million (US$12.83 million), Hong Kong police said on Friday. They arrested a mastermind, three syndicate members and three money mules, aged between 33 and 43, on suspicion of conspiring to launder money.
The operation code-named “Blackbrain” was launched on August 9, after police found a suspected mule bank account holder received about US$120,000 in overseas deposits within one day.
Officers immediately notified Interpol and the Singaporean police, and later discovered that one of the wire transfers was from a victim of an investment scam in the United States, according to the Hong Kong side.
Singaporean police said the tech-support scam syndicate targeted unsuspecting victims in many jurisdictions, including the city state. The criminal proceeds were then laundered through Hong Kong.
“The false screen pop-up was a ruse to phish for the victim’s internet banking credentials, and the abuse of the remote access software allowed scammers to remotely control the victim’s computer to make unauthorised banking transactions,” said David Chew, director of the commercial affairs department of the Singaporean police.