Hong Kong police arrest 301 in crackdown on fraudsters with HK$370 million stolen in scams
- Force rounded up 223 men and 78 women, including alleged phone and internet fraudsters and those who sold bank accounts to launder money
Hong Kong police have rounded up 301 people in a 17-day crackdown on fraud syndicates accused of using internet and phone scams to cheat local residents out of HK$370 million (US$47.4 million).
Senior Superintendent Fang Chi-kin, who heads the New Territories South crime unit, said on Wednesday that the suspects – 223 men and 78 women – included core members of the syndicates and those who sold their bank accounts to be used for collecting money from victims and laundering the proceeds.
“These account holders are significant partners of the fraud syndicates, directly participating in criminal activities and swindling hundreds of millions of hard-earned money from Hong Kong residents every year,” Fang said.
He added that their “despicable actions” deserved “strong condemnation” from society.
Fang also issued a stern warning to the account holders. He said they could not evade responsibility by claiming ignorance about how the accounts were operated and that they would face money laundering charges punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Police have frozen more than HK$3 million in bank accounts involved in the scams, but fraudsters pocketed the rest of the money – about HK$367 million.
