Hong Kong Customs has recently successfully cracked down on a criminal syndicate that used international activities to launder money, involving a total amount of HK$14 billion, making it the largest money laundering case ever cracked by Hong Kong Customs. Customs arrested a total of 7 people involved in the case and froze about 1 of their namesHK$6.5 billion in assets.
According to the Commander of the Customs Wealth Investigation Bureau, Yu Yiu-wing, Customs officers Yu.
On January 30, an enforcement operation codenamed "Beenet" was launched to raid a number of residential and commercial units in Kowloon Tong, Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom, with one of the commercial units in Hung Hom being considered to be a money laundering operation centre. Customs officers seized a large number of documents, evidence such as computers, mobile phones and bank cards, as well as some jewellery and cash at the scene.
Yu Yiurong said that the criminal group involved in the case registered a number of shell companies in Hong Kong, and transferred a large amount of black money to bank accounts in Hong Kong under the guise of importing and exporting diamonds and electronic products, and then transferred the funds out of the country through different channels. The shell companies involved in the case had no substantive business dealings with each other, but frequently transferred money between puppet bank accounts, forming a complex network of capital flows to evade supervision and traceability.
The Senior Superintendent of the Customs and Excise Department's Financial Investigation Bureau, Ye Dongjing, revealed that the investigation found that the black money involved in the case mainly came from overseas, of which HK$2.9 billion was related to a mobile app fraud case in India. The scam involved selling an investment app that claimed to offer high returns to the Indian public, when it turned out to be a Ponzi**. After the application is applied, the victim is asked to pay a certain initiation fee and investment money, and then is induced to invite more people to join in order to get more rewards. However, when victims want to withdraw their funds, they find that the operators of the app cannot be contacted and that they cannot get their money back.
In February, the dynamic incentive plan Ye Dongjing said that the money laundering group involved in the case has been collecting remittances from India through international means, transferring the proceeds of the relevant fraud to bank accounts in Hong Kong, and then laundering the funds through other means. Customs officers have maintained close cooperation and communication with India's law enforcement agencies in the course of the investigation to combat this transnational criminal activity.
According to the Customs and Excise Department, money laundering is a serious criminal act that not only jeopardizes Hong Kong's financial system and reputation, but also provides financial support for other criminal activities. Customs will continue to step up its efforts to combat money laundering to safeguard Hong Kong's financial security and social stability. Customs appeals to members of the public to report any suspicious financial activities to the Customs and Excise Department immediately so as to assist in its enforcement work.
Under section 25 of the Money Laundering and Fund-raising Act, any person who engages in money laundering is liable on conviction to imprisonment for 14 years and a fine of HK$5 million.