Ten migrant domestic workers (PRT) and a Hong Kong resident have been arrested for accepting payments in exchange for opening bank accounts used to collect and launder millions of cash fraudulently online Thursday (21/1/2021).
Reported by SCMP, on Wednesday (19/1), police found dozens of bank accounts involved in the scheme and funds allegedly linked to online fraud cases reported at home and abroad.
“Initial investigations show millions of dollars have been laundered through these accounts and part of the money was transferred to Hong Kong from overseas,” said Ray Mo Siu-hei, a spokesman for the Tuen Mun Police.
Mo said small amounts of money were left in each account because most of the money had been disbursed within hours of the transfer.
According to police, the money laundering syndicate behind the bank accounts came to light during an online fraud investigation when a local woman was conned for up to HK$2 million (US$258,000) last year. The HK$310 million so far is the biggest Japanese bank fraud of the year for a police online crime specialist.
According to the case chronology, an internet fraudster, posing as an American-born Korean businessman, befriended the victim online in mid-2020. After having intimate relations with the Hong Kong resident of the victim online, the suspect used various excuses to get the victim to give money.
“The scammer stated that he was in dire need of money because he failed in his investment. He also told the victim that he would move to Hong Kong from the United States and marry her,” Mo said.
The woman, who worked as a clerk in Hong Kong, transferred HK$2 million as instructed to more than 10 bank accounts in dozens of transactions over two months before realizing she had been duped after losing contact with the suspect, and reporting to the police last September.
According to the police, the money from the love scam was transferred to several bank accounts controlled by the syndicate, which has been working with international fraudsters. After identifying the syndicate’s core figures and several account holders, officers launched an operation called Winclaim and detained 11 women in a series of raids across the city between Wednesday and Monday this week.
Mo said the 10 suspects were migrants working as domestic workers, while the eleventh suspect was a Hong Kong resident.
“One of the migrant domestic workers is suspected to be a key figure in the syndicate accused of persuading his friends to open bank accounts in exchange for money,” said Mo, who said operations were continuing and further arrests were possible.
In the same operation, police also arrested another gang accused of defrauding four women and one man for HK$2 million in connection with an online investment scam last year. The gang befriends their targets on social media and persuades the victims to invest through fake companies. Police arrested nine men and two women in connection with the case.
The 22 suspects in both fraud cases, who were detained on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy fraud, have now been released on bail and are awaiting further investigation.
According to Hong Kong police records, in the first 10 months of 2020, police handled 12,900 fraud reports, up 94.2 percent from 6,641 in the same period in 2019.
