Liberty Reserve tied to Hong Kong, China
US prosecutors say transactions on both sides of the border constituted a vital connection in US$6 billion global money laundering network
Hong Kong and mainland China are vital links in the US$6 billion money laundering network run by global currency exchange Liberty Reserve, which is facing criminal charges in the United States.
A Hong Kong company, Extension Asia, deposited part of Liberty Reserve's "ill-gotten" funds now demanded by the US authorities at the Hong Kong branch of Bank of Communications, one of China's biggest banks, and a bank in Shenzhen, alleges a US court indictment filed by US prosecutors.
On Tuesday, US federal prosecutors charged Liberty Reserve and seven current and former executives of the firm in the largest international money laundering prosecution by the US government.
"We strike a severe blow against a money laundering enterprise charged with laundering over US$6 billion in criminal proceeds. Liberty Reserve was a financial hub for cyber-criminals, Ponzi schemers, child pornographers, identity thieves, and other criminals seeking to hide, launder, and use ill-gotten funds," Mythili Raman, acting US assistant attorney-general, told a press conference in New York on Tuesday, laying the charges.
Liberty Reserve operated a global digital currency system that provided criminals a way to launder their profits, said Raman. It was used by credit card thieves and computer hackers around the world, including Hong Kong, the mainland, Vietnam and the US, according to the court indictment filed by the US prosecutors.
Liberty Reserve and the defendants have been ordered to forfeit to the US government assets including US$6 billion of laundered money, US$36.92 million deposited in Westpac Bank in Australia and funds deposited in 42 bank accounts in Costa Rica, Cyprus, Russia, Morocco, Spain, Latvia, Hong Kong and mainland China.
