Hong Kong-listed company investigated over HK$95 million gold scam as police arrest six and launch hunt for major shareholder
- Twenty victims conned into buying bullion with promise of big returns on their investment
- Police freeze bank accounts containing HK$3.1 million as part of investigation
Police have arrested six people and are hunting four other suspects, including a major shareholder in a Hong Kong-listed company, in connection with a HK$95 million gold scam, the force said on Wednesday.
Three men and three women were detained in a series of raids on Tuesday, while police have frozen bank accounts containing HK$3.1 million (US$397,400) they suspect of being the proceeds of crime.
The firm at the centre of the scam has been accused of acting as a guarantor in a fake investment company in which 20 people were conned into buying 279kg of gold bars between August 2018 and August last year. The victims, 11 men and nine women, include a merchant, lawyer and student.
According to police, the group, aged between 32 and 65, includes one local resident, while the rest live in mainland China. A mainland lawyer had the largest loss, at HK$22 million, a police source said.
Asked whether the listed company was being investigated by the Securities and Futures Commission, Superintendent Yip Wing-lam said the firm had not suspended trading in the city and police would continue to maintain a close contact with the watchdog.
