Hong Kong accounted for the largest share of losses uncovered in a cross-border scam crackdown spanning 10 jurisdictions, making up more than 40 per cent of the US$752 million total.
The single-largest loss involved a Singaporean firm whose funds were transferred to multiple bank accounts in the city and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police said on Wednesday that it worked with law enforcement agencies in Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Maldives, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand between March 10 and May 7.
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The operation targeted fraud and money-laundering cases and involved 3,200 officers.
In total, 3,018 people were arrested in connection with 138,000 cases, including online shopping scams, employment fraud, investment scams and telephone deception, with losses amounting to US$752 million.
In Hong Kong, police arrested 870 individuals aged between 13 and 83 for their suspected roles in various scams and intercepted about HK$539 million in criminal proceeds.