Chinanews.com, May 7. According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao.com report, Hong Kong Customs took an enforcement action code-named "Eagle.com" on April 28 to detect a suspected money laundering case involving about 600 million yuan (HK$, below). It is the largest money laundering case solved so far this year, and at the same time, it was found that some criminals used the virtual currency trading platform to commit the crime.
During the police operation, two men and two women, aged between 32 and 54, were arrested. Customs said they were key members of the syndicate, and some of the arrested persons knew each other.
Customs pointed out that three of the arrested persons opened accounts in different physical and virtual banks within a very short period of time, or even on the same day, and then conducted a large number of large-value transactions. The U.S. dollar transfer on the currency trading platform is equivalent to about 50 million yuan. After the three people received the money, they immediately converted the U.S. dollar into Hong Kong dollars, and then transferred the money on the same day.
The customs pointed out that the virtual currency trading platform is highly concealed, and the three people will transfer funds to each other to hide the source and flow of funds, intending to increase the difficulty of investigation by law enforcement officers.
Customs also found that from February 2020 to March 2022, the four persons in the case received funds from 440 third-party accounts and 40 companies of unknown origin from accounts in different banks under their names, involving 4,000 transactions and money involved. The amount reached 550 million yuan. After receiving funds from unknown sources, group members transferred them to more than 200 third-party accounts and more than ten company accounts in a short period of time, and the single largest transfer amount exceeded 3 million yuan.
However, these account holders have no direct relationship with group members, and most of the companies involved are shell companies.
The arrested persons reported that they were clerks, hotel staff, company managers and housewives. The first three had a monthly income of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. The companies under their names had no real business, but their accounts recorded a total transaction amount of more than 600 million yuan. It is highly inconsistent with the financial background declared by the four people, and it is believed that they are engaged in money laundering activities.
During the operation, the Customs mobilized 40 officers of the Wealth Investigation Division to raid 11 locations in Hong Kong, including 4 residences, 5 offices in Yau Ma Tei, Kwun Tong and Sha Tin, as well as 2 licensed money changers. Large quantities of money were seized during the operation. Mobile phones, computers, online security devices for banks and lots of documents.
The assets of the other 4 people totaling 1.7 million yuan have been frozen. Customs will consult the Department of Justice and consider applying for forfeiture of the relevant funds.