Hong Kong customs arrests 7 in USD 1.8 bn money laundering case linked to India

Hong Kong authorities arrested seven persons on Friday in connection with what has been deemed the territorys largest moneylaundering operation amounting to a staggering HKD 14 billion USD 18 billionSome of the significant amount ldquowas linked to a mobile app scam case in Indiardquo newswire PTI reportedAccording to Suzette Ip Tungching the head of Hong Kongs customs financial investigation bureau the syndicate employed stooge bank accounts and shell companies to facilitate the transfer of funds Of particular note is the alleged involvement of two jewellery companies in India which are said to have handled approximately HKD 29 billion USD 371 million of the laundered fundsldquoThe operation was linked to a mobile app scam in India and two jewellery companies in the country which allegedly handled about HKD29 billion USD 371 million of the fundsrdquo PTI reported quoting Suzette Ip TungchingIp described the amounts laundered as ldquoastonishingrdquo with one of the accounts receiving as much as HKD100 million USD 128 million a day and carrying out as many as 50 daily transactionsSome of those arrested were nonChinese residents of Hong Kong she said without giving detailsLaw enforcement in Hong Kong India and elsewhere cooperated in carrying out the operation enabling its success Ip saidShe said the suspects were accused of laundering the cash through transactions involving gemstones and electronics with the group including a 34yearold man believed to be the mastermind the Hong Kongbased South China Morning Post newspaper reportedHis wife brother and father were also arrested as well as three other Hong Kong residents accused of setting up a large number of shell companies and stooge bank accounts to trade electronics gemstones and jewelleryldquoThese bank accounts were used for receiving multiple local and overseas transactions before conducting complicated and frequent trades with multiple layers of launderingrdquo Ip saidAccording to police stooge account holders are those who loan or sell their bank accounts to syndicates to collect scammed money and launder crime proceeds in exchange for hundreds or thousands of dollarsIp added that authorities had spotted a significant discrepancy between the bank transactions valued at billions involving companies registered under their names and import and export declarations of about HKD 90 million USD 1150The Associated Press reported from Hong Kong quoting Yu Yiuwing the bureaus divisional commander as saying that officers exchanged intelligence with Indian authorities and found some of the money came from two jewellery companies that Indian authorities said were connected to the scamOfficials have confiscated electronic devices documents and over 8000 carats of suspected synthetic gemstones apparently meant for export to IndiaThe previous record money laundering case involved about 6 billion Hong Kong dollars USD 767 million and arrests of nine people in January 2023Chinas law enforcement officers have been detaining a large number of Chinese telecom involved in telecom fraud cases and money laundering abroad in recent monthsChinese public security departments have cracked 391000 cases of telecom and online fraud from January to November 2023 the countrys Ministry of Public Security said last monthTo deliver a heavy blow to relevant criminal activities the ministry in 2023 launched several law enforcement campaigns targeting telecom and online fraud staterun Xinhua news agency reported on January 5In total 79000 suspects were apprehended including 263 persons who financed led or were in charge of such activitiesThe ministry has also dispatched work teams to countries including Thailand the Philippines and Cambodia to participate in international law enforcement missionsMultiple overseas criminal dens were destroyed and more than 3000 suspects were captured in the process the report said With inputs from agencies