Hong Kong protests: civil servant who raised HK$4.5 million for those arrested during unrest accused of spending funds on luxury handbags
- Woman detained on suspicion of money laundering
- Two male suspects wanted for questioning are believed to have fled city
A source said the suspect, a 25-year-old woman, is a member of a group whose name in Chinese roughly translates as “the book of Hong Kong freedom”. She works for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
The group was among the first to set up street booths to collect food and cash coupons for protesters after the social unrest began in June 2019.
Officers arrested the woman on Friday morning and want to question two more men in connection with the case, but they are believed to have fled the city.
Senior Inspector Lo Yat-chun said the woman in question held one of the two corporate bank accounts which in total collected HK$2.08 million between August 2019 and last December. The group claimed on social media that money in the accounts would be used to support the lives and medical expenses of people arrested during the protests.
Lo said police had found that the HK$2.08 million was then transferred to her personal bank account, which later also received an extra HK$2.5 million from unknown sources.
“We found that the money was actually used on personal expenses such as buying luxury handbags and electronic products. There were also securities transactions,” Lo said. “The use of money is apparently different from the crowd fund’s purpose claimed on social media.”
Over HK$8 billion from scam victims laundered through Hong Kong bank accounts in 2020
During the raid, officers seized cash, phones and bank documents. A total of HK$270,000 was frozen in bank and securities accounts.
Lo said the two wanted men were a 20-year-old corporate director and bank account holder, while another 29-year-old man also held the personal account with the female suspect. Officers believed they had left Hong Kong last August, although the pair claimed on social media to still be in the city and continued to crowd fund.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said it had no comment on the case as police did not officially confirm that one of their staff was arrested in connection to the matter.
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China’s Rebel City: The Hong Kong Protests
In Hong Kong, money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine
On Friday morning, “the book of Hong Kong freedom” wrote on its Facebook account that two bank accounts used for crowdfunding had been suspended after officers raided the home of overseas volunteers.
Earlier this month, the group claimed it had completed its “flying mission”, and asked for continued support so it could help the “brothers” arrive at safe destinations.
In a post in December 2019, the group claimed a woman had been brutally attacked in San Uk Ling Holding Centre and needed a wheelchair to escape overseas. The post listed a bank account, appealing for members of the public to help as the woman had no income but faced hefty medical expenses.
