Hong Kong customs arrests 5 in crackdown on syndicate that laundered HK$1.6 billion
Bank manager, syndicate’s allegedly leader, former compliance officer of money changer and two directors of shell companies apprehended
A bank manager was among five men arrested by Hong Kong customs in a crackdown on a local syndicate that laundered HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) in suspected crime proceeds through two shell companies and 23 bank accounts, authorities have said.
The Customs and Excise Department said on Wednesday that the other four suspects were the syndicate’s alleged ringleader, the former compliance officer of a money changer and two directors of the shell companies. It was customs’ second operation against the same racket in a year.
The Post has learned that one of the directors is a 71-year-old man accused of receiving a monthly monetary reward to help the syndicate set up a shell company and bank accounts.
“The accounts were used to collect and launder suspected crime proceeds from various locations such as the United States and Europe,” a source said.
Inspector Billy Au Wing-cheung of customs’ financial investigation bureau cautioned that those who assisted others in handling dubious funds through bank accounts could face money-laundering charges, even if they had not benefited financially.
Au said the two shell companies claimed to be involved in mobile app development and IT businesses, but they had no actual operations and their tax records showed they had no declared income.
He said investigations revealed that the syndicate used the 23 bank accounts of the two shell companies to handle more than 4,000 suspicious transactions totalling HK$1.6 billion between August 2020 and October 2023.
