Hong Kong police arrest 11 suspects in crackdown on syndicate that laundered HK$124 million through 52 bank accounts

One suspect allegedly illegally obtained HK$3.9 million from a government loan scheme aimed at helping firms affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, police on Saturday said.

Among the five men and six women arrested, aged 22 to 39, some had triad backgrounds, and five were believed to be key members of the syndicate who allegedly ran a base of operations in Tsim Sha Tsui.

On Wednesday, officers from the Commercial Crime Bureau raided the premises and an unregistered cryptocurrency store in the district, which the group allegedly used to store cash.

Investigators seized from one of the suspects, the store and the base of operations about HK$800,000 in cash, along with bank documents, chequebooks, cash counting machines and mobile phones. Multiple company seals were also discovered.

Officers suspect the group had laundered about HK$124 million through at least 52 bank accounts since October last year. The money could be tied to more than 20 fraud cases, including email and loan scams, and commercial and investment fraud.

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One of the arrested, believed to be a core member of the gang, was suspected of taking advantage of a government loan scheme launched in 2020 to help small and medium-sized businesses affected by the pandemic.

“We found a key syndicate member had used two private companies where he served as a director to apply for the Special 100 per cent Loan Guarantee Scheme with fake bank statements and successfully secured a total of HK$3.9 million, while police had managed to intercept another [approved ] loan of HK$2.65 million,” Superintendent Vivian Lee Mo-yin of the Commercial Crime Bureau said.

The suspects said they were construction workers, sales clerks, insurance brokers and domestic helpers, while others claimed to be unemployed.

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Six were believed to be the owners of the bank accounts used to launder the funds. They were lured into providing their account details and personal information to the criminal organisation after responding to online advertisements or through referrals from friends, according to police.

They allegedly provided the information in exchange for as little as a few hundred dollars to as much as several thousand.

The suspects remained in custody on Saturday night. Police said the investigation was ongoing and further arrests could not be ruled out.

They reminded residents not to rent or sell their bank accounts to others, and even if the account holder was unaware it was being used for criminal activities, they could still be charged, the force said.