Hong Kong police arrest 100 in fraud, money-laundering crackdown after 295 people scammed out of HK$180 million
- Suspects arrested on suspicion of money laundering and obtaining property by deception, police say, with fraudsters using range of tactics to swindle funds
- Businessman, 74, loses HK$23 million in largest single case uncovered after being lured into transferring money to stooge accounts to invest in cryptocurrency
The force said on Wednesday that the suspects – 75 men and 25 women – were detained on suspicion of money laundering and obtaining property by deception in the operation, code-named “Widepeak”, which ended on Monday.
Chief Inspector Cheng Ki-fung of the Sham Shui Po district crime squad said most of the suspects were holders of stooge accounts and their occupations included cleaners, chefs and decoration workers.
Some bank account holders loan or sell their bank accounts to criminal syndicates to collect scammed money and launder the proceeds of crime in exchange for money, police said.
Cheng said the suspects were linked to 82 cases of deception in which 295 victims were duped out of more than HK$180 million (US$24.2 million).
He said the cases included investment scams, employment fraud, internet love scams, e-shopping swindles and telephone deception.