Hong Kong police arrest man after cryptocurrency trader conned into making bogus HK$1.5 million transfer
- Trader met a man posing as a buyer in Tsim Sha Tsui and ended up locked in a room after transferring digital money in a bogus transaction
- Office set up for the meeting was fake, with empty computer cases
Hong Kong police have arrested a 24-year-old man about a week after a cryptocurrency trader was coaxed into transferring HK$1.5 million (US$191,085) in digital money in a bogus transaction in a Tsim Sha Tsui shop.
According to the force, the suspect was detained on suspicion of theft – an offence punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
During the arrest on Tuesday, officers seized a mobile phone, necklaces and clothes the man was allegedly wearing at the time of the bogus transaction, which took place in a Nathan Road shop in Tsim Sha Tsui on May 4.
That day, the 30-year-old cryptocurrency trader and her two colleagues met a man posing as a buyer to make a transaction inside the meeting room of the shop at around 1pm.
Detectives are investigating whether the suspect set up the bogus office to cheat the victim.
“As instructed, the victim transferred HK$1.5 million in digital money into a designated e-wallet,” said Inspector Tong Sin-tung of the Yau Tsim criminal investigation unit on Wednesday.“The [buyer] claimed he needed to go to the staff room to get money and exited [the meeting room].”
Instead, the man left the shop via the rear exit.
Moments later, the victim and her colleagues realised they had been locked in the room and called police.
