{"id":6542,"date":"2023-10-06T17:07:19","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T09:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/?p=6542"},"modified":"2023-10-09T17:12:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T09:12:17","slug":"hong-kong-customs-arrests-4-including-siblings-in-crackdown-on-syndicate-accused-of-laundering-hk600-million-using-shell-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/hong-kong-customs-arrests-4-including-siblings-in-crackdown-on-syndicate-accused-of-laundering-hk600-million-using-shell-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong customs arrests 4, including siblings, in crackdown on syndicate accused of laundering HK$600 million using shell company"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"css-1mniedq emcar6e12\" data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component-0\">\n<li class=\"css-1mniedq emcar6e11\" data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component-0\">Suspects include owner of money exchange company and her two siblings, source familiar with case says<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1mniedq emcar6e11\" data-qa=\"ContentSchemaRender-defaultRenderMapFunctions-Component-2\">Money changer allegedly dealt with suspicious remittance transactions through 12 bank accounts of shell company, according to customs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">Hong Kong customs has arrested four people, including three siblings, in a crackdown on a money-laundering syndicate accused of processing HK$600 million (US$76.6 million) in two and half years through the bank accounts of a shell company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">The suspects included a 37-year-old owner of a money exchange company and her 34-year-old brother, who worked in her shop, and 39-year-old sister who served as the director of an investment company, a source familiar with the case said on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">He said the money changer and the investment firm occupied two adjacent ground-floor shops in North Point.<\/p>\n<p data-qa=\"Component-Component\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone wp-image-6543 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08.png\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"808\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27808%27%20height%3D%27496%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20808%20496%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27808%27%20height%3D%27496%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-200x123.png 200w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-400x246.png 400w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-600x368.png 600w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-768x471.png 768w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08-800x491.png 800w, https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/08.png 808w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-qa=\"Component-Component\">According to the Customs and Excise Department, the fourth suspect \u2013 a 35-year-old man \u2013 worked as a compliance officer at the currency exchange company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">Inspector Billy Au Wing-cheung of customs\u2019 financial investigation bureau said intelligence suggested the money changer allegedly handled a large amount of suspicious remittance transactions through 12 bank accounts of a shell company set up by the compliance officer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">\u201cThe shell company claimed that it provided computer trading and technology consulting services, but no actual business was involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">He added there were no tax records about the company\u2019s dealings, while the compliance officer had only reported his income from the money changer to the Inland Revenue Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">\u201cIn two and a half years, the shell company\u2019s accounts handled more than 1,800 transactions involving HK$600 million,\u201d Au said, referring to the period between January 2021 and July 2023.<\/p>\n<p data-qa=\"Component-Component\">He said the firm handled up to 19 deals a day, with the largest single-day transaction amounting to HK$19 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">The funds came from the bank accounts of third-party companies in Hong Kong and overseas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">\u201cThe third-party companies were involved in food wholesale and footwear trading, which were not commensurate with the businesses of the shell company,\u201d the inspector said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">Au said the money was usually transferred out of the accounts on the same day or within a few days in a suspected money-laundering tactic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">He added an investigation indicated the owner and employee of the money changer were aware of the alleged suspicious transactions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">\u201cThe three members of the family included the alleged ringleader of the syndicate,\u201d Au said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">After months of investigation, customs officers began an arrest operation on Wednesday and picked up the three siblings and the 35-year-old compliance officer during raids on four flats and the two North Point shops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">The four suspects were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to launder money \u2013 an offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine. They have been released on bail, pending further investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">During the operation, officers seized computers, mobile phones, remittance receipts and bank documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">Au said customs officers were investigating the source of the money, recipients of the funds and the illegal activities behind the proceeds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"e1cmel8x0 css-1c6uqr6 e37ybvo1\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\">The investigation was ongoing and further arrests were possible, he added.<\/p>\n<p data-qa=\"Component-Component\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/hong-kong\/law-and-crime\/article\/3237113\/hong-kong-customs-arrests-4-including-siblings-crackdown-syndicate-accused-laundering-hk600-million\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SCMP<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Suspects i [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[384],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-service-operators-industrial-news"],"acf":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":6542,"zh":6545},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6544,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6542\/revisions\/6544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpl.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}