Hong Kong police arrest 27 in money-laundering blitz, with some cases linked to US, Singapore
Syndicates are using cash and cryptocurrencies, as well as transferring criminal proceeds multiple times, to cover their tracks, police say
Hong Kong police have arrested 27 people in three separate operations on suspicion of laundering HK$310 million, including the proceeds from scam cases in Singapore and the United States.
Senior Superintendent Philip Lui Che-ho of the force’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau said on Wednesday that money-laundering syndicates were increasingly breaking up proceeds of crime to cover their tracks.
“Syndicates will use a few ways to evade discovery, including using cash and cryptocurrencies, as well as transferring criminal proceeds multiple times through various layers [of accounts] alongside operating across borders,” Lui said.
He also said lending or selling personal bank accounts for money laundering had become more widespread in recent years, with the number of people arrested surging from 4,465 in the first half of 2024 from 977 in the same period in 2021.
One operation, code-named “Blackbrain”, was launched earlier this month after Singaporean police alerted their Hong Kong counterparts in March about bank accounts in the city being used in around 30 scam cases in the Southeast Asian country. Around HK$30 million was transferred into local accounts.
Police investigations subsequently uncovered a syndicate whose mastermind would go with his accomplices to register new bank accounts to use for receiving criminal proceeds from Singapore.
