Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3039749/39-members-online-romance-scam-ring-arrested-joint
Hong Kong/ Law and Crime

Syndicate that conned 139 women in love scams busted in joint operation by police from Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore

  • The syndicate swindled US$4.34 million from 139 women across the four locations
  • 39 people were arrested, and three dozen other suspects were also nabbed for trying to launder the proceeds of the crime
The rise in the number of online scamming cases had prompted Hong Kong police to mount the joint operation. Photo: Shutterstock

Police from Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore mounted a joint operation and busted a transnational syndicate that swindled 139 women out of HK$34 million (US$4.34 million) in online romance scams, local police said on Thursday.

The three-day transnational police operation, code-named “Soarblaze”, led to the arrests of 39 people, including three core figures of the racket. Thirteen of the syndicate members were caught in Hong Kong.

A police source said the syndicate was based in Malaysia and had been in operation since June last year.

According to police, the core figures – two men and one woman, aged between 33 and 49 – were arrested in Malaysia.

The other 36 suspects – seven men and 29 women – were arrested for money laundering, after their bank accounts were found to have been used to collect the swindled money and launder the proceeds of the crime.

The transnational syndicate scammed 139 women across Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Photo: Warton Li
The transnational syndicate scammed 139 women across Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Photo: Warton Li

The group conned 58 women in Hong Kong and 10 victims in Macau, and there were 41 reports in Malaysia and 30 cases in Singapore.

“The total amount the victims lost is about HK$34 million,” police said in a statement.

Hong Kong police said the rise in the number of cases in the past few years had prompted officers from the cybersecurity and technology crime bureau to mount the joint operation.

In the first nine months of 2019, there were 425 reports of online romance scams in which swindlers bagged HK$156.6 million. This year’s biggest loser was a 53-year-old woman who was conned out of HK$28 million.

Online romance swindlers duped 596 victims out HK$450 million in the city last year. In 2017, 235 victims lost HK$109 million in romance scams.

In 2016, there were 114 such reports involving HK$95 million, and in 2015, officers handled 52 reports, which saw scammers receiving HK$32.4 million.

Romance scammers typically pose as male entrepreneurs, professionals or military veterans, and befriend potential victims through internet platforms. Illustration: Emilio Rivera
Romance scammers typically pose as male entrepreneurs, professionals or military veterans, and befriend potential victims through internet platforms. Illustration: Emilio Rivera

Last year, a 66-year-old businesswoman filed a police report after losing about HK$180 million – the biggest amount lost in a romance scam in Hong Kong – to an “engineer from Britain” over four years.

The city’s longest-running scam involved a con artist who swindled a finance manager of HK$14 million after posing as a British film director. Their online relationship lasted eight years, and the victim never met the swindler in person.

Romance scammers typically pose as male entrepreneurs, professionals or military veterans, and befriend potential victims through internet platforms.

After establishing trust, the swindlers concoct reasons to ask victims to send money to designated bank accounts. Police say the requests almost always involve needing money urgently to solve a problem overseas.

In Hong Kong, obtaining property by deception carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. The offence of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of a 14-year imprisonment and a HK$5-million fine.