quora
webinr-icon

“A Fintech’s Path to Rapid Growth with 100% KYC/KYB Compliance” - 7th November

Register Here

Hong-Kong Police Crack money-laundering Cartel of Processing HK$119 Million in 2 months

n-img-hong

Hong Kong police have rounded up 11 men in a crackdown on a cross-border syndicate with a suspected laundering amount of HK$119 million over two months.

According to the police statements from Thursday (30 March 2023), 11 suspects were arrested for handling scam proceedings in the cross-border syndicate operation. The suspected amount laundered by the group is HK$119 million (US$15 million). Out of eleven members, nine were arrested for using debit cards to process illegal funds. They purchased 11 timepieces worth HK$3 million from a local shop. The other two members were the employees of two goldsmith shops in the new territories. They were put into custody on Wednesday as the investigation suggested that they were aware that the transactions processed were linked with criminal proceedings. 

As per the police statements, the Hong Kong arrests were part of a joint operation with mainland authorities. Chan Hok-lun, the acting chief inspector of the financial intelligence and investigation bureau stated that the syndicate used over 90 bank accounts in mainland China to transfer HK$119 million generated from about 680 phone scams in February and March.

All the telephone deception cases occurred in the mainland including investment fraud, fake-official scams and “guess-who-I-am” cons, he added. The inquiries revealed that the group first hired people to set up bank accounts in the region, and then used them to receive scammed money. The racket forced the account holders to hand over the debit card details to the syndicate, which passed them to the core members in Hong Kong. 

Chan added that the syndicate members in the city laundered illegal cash by purchasing different items including luxury watches, mobile phones and gold ornaments with debit cards in local shops. They then cashed these products by selling them so that law enforcement authorities cannot trace the money. 

Lo Chun-hei, the senior member of the same department stated that the syndicate deployed lookouts when shopping and had a car ready to pick up the members right after the purchase. 

After identification, police arrested 11 men in several raids. Five were the holders of two-way permits, the travel documents that are used to enter Hong Kong. The police seized HK$1.73 million in cash, 11 luxury watches (worth HK$3 million), two gold bars (worth HK$1 million), four gold ornaments (worth HK$100,000), 30 debit cards, and 18 mobile phones during the operation. 

Chan stated that the investigations would continue and more arrests were possible. He urged the public to not sell or lend their bank accounts/e-wallets to others.

Suggested Read:

HONG KONG’S SFC PLANS TO REGULATE DIGITAL ASSET TRADING PLATFORMS

Related Posts

News

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Taiwan and Singapore St...

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities Read More

News

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill

At the same time, trade bodies and digital identity service providers have consulted with the gov...

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Read More

News

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks

According to the recently passed amendments, overseas crypto platforms are obliged to set up loca...

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks Read More

News

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively

For the CSPs, the law mandates that they must ensure that the arranged nominees are “fit and prop...

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively Read More

News

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates

In addition to these shortcomings, the watchdog discovered that the country’s banking, constructi...

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates Read More

News

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities

These suspicious transactions amounted to more than $300 million and were conducted between 2002 ...

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities Read More

News

Nigeria, Myanmar, and Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations

Mohammad Shahid Ahmed, the Chief of Staff at NFIU, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the...

Nigeria, Myanmar, and  Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations Read More

News

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings

In addition to this, the spokesperson also stated that the company failed to comply with due dili...

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings Read More

News

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Taiwan and Singapore St...

United States Senate, UAE Government, and Spain Make Significant Efforts to Curb Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Activities Read More

News

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill

At the same time, trade bodies and digital identity service providers have consulted with the gov...

UK Parliament Legislates New Digital Identity Verification Services Bill Read More

News

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks

According to the recently passed amendments, overseas crypto platforms are obliged to set up loca...

Taiwan and Singapore Strengthen AML Regulations for Virtual Asset Providers and Banks Read More

News

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively

For the CSPs, the law mandates that they must ensure that the arranged nominees are “fit and prop...

Singapore and Europe Enhance AML Framework to Fight Financial Crimes Effectively Read More

News

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates

In addition to these shortcomings, the watchdog discovered that the country’s banking, constructi...

Türkiye Removed From Gray List, India Recognized for Its AML Efforts, and Kuwait Urged to Have Better Money Laundering Control Measures: FATF Updates Read More

News

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities

These suspicious transactions amounted to more than $300 million and were conducted between 2002 ...

FINMA, SFC, and MAS Fine Multiple Financial Institutions Over $1.5 Billion For Money Laundering Activities Read More

News

Nigeria, Myanmar, and Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations

Mohammad Shahid Ahmed, the Chief of Staff at NFIU, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the...

Nigeria, Myanmar, and  Türkiye Take Effective Steps to Meet FATF Recommendations Read More

News

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings

In addition to this, the spokesperson also stated that the company failed to comply with due dili...

Regulatory Authorities Fines TD Bank, Adelaide Casino, and SBI over $500 Million For AML Failings Read More

Take the next steps to better security.

Contact us

Get in touch with our experts. We'll help you find the perfect solution for your compliance and security needs.

Contact us

Request demo

Get free access to our platform and try our products today.

Get started