In a $1.8 billion money laundering case involving India and other countries, Hong Kong Customs detains seven individuals

In a $1.8 billion money laundering case involving India and other countries, Hong Kong Customs detains seven individuals

With one account getting HKD 100 million (USD 12.8 million) each day and more than 50 daily transactions, the amount laundered was deemed "staggering" by the IP.

In addition to more than 8,000 carats of alleged synthetic stones intended for shipment to India, authorities also confiscated papers, computer devices, and other items.

In the largest money-laundering investigation in the territory, which involves 14 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$1.8 billion), including part from an Indian mobile app fraud, customs officers in Hong Kong detained at least seven suspects on Friday. were linked together.

The gang transferred the biggest sum of money connected to a case filed in the city, according to Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department, using "stooge" bank accounts and shell corporations. According to Suzette Ip Tung-ching, head of Customs' Financial Investigation Bureau, the operation was connected to two Indian jewelry firms that were accused of money laundering around HKD2.9 billion (USD 371 million) and a mobile app fraud in India. had managed. informed the Hong Kong media.

With one account getting HKD 100 million (USD 12.8 million) each day and more than 50 daily transactions, the amount laundered was deemed "staggering" by the IP. He said, without providing specifics, that some of the people detained were Hong Kong residents who were not Chinese. The operation was made feasible by law enforcement's cooperation in Hong Kong, India, and other countries, according to IP. "We found that a huge amount of money originate from Indian as well as some foreign bank accounts," he said.

"We traded intelligence with Indian officials. We discovered that a few of the bank transactions were connected to two firms that Indian authorities believe are involved in money laundering related to the online mobile application fraud," the speaker said. has been taken out."The suspects, who included a 34-year-old man thought to be the brains behind South Chin, a company based in Hong Kong, were accused of laundering cash through transactions involving gems and electronics," the IP said.The Morning Post published an article.

Along with three other Hong Kong residents, his wife, brother, and father were also taken into custody on charges of creating many shell businesses and phony bank accounts in order to deal in jewelry, electronics, and gemstones. The IP said that before engaging in regular, intricate trading with many levels of money laundering, these bank accounts were used to accept a large number of domestic and international transactions.

Police claim that those who lend or sell their bank accounts to the gang in return for hundreds or thousands of dollars in order for them to collect scam money and launder the spoils of crime are known as puppet account holders. According to the IP, officials discovered a large disparity between import and export statements totaling over HKD 90 million (USD 11.50) and billions of bank transactions involving businesses established under its name.

Yu Yiu-wing, divisional commander of the agency, was reported by the Associated Press from Hong Kong as stating that officers shared information with Indian authorities and discovered that some of the money had come from two jewelry firms, which Indian officials said were connected to the fraud. In addition to more than 8,000 carats of alleged synthetic stones intended for shipment to India, authorities also confiscated papers, computer devices, and other items.

Around 6 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$767 million) were at stake in the previous record money laundering case, which resulted in the arrest of nine suspects in January 2023. Recently, a significant number of Chinese citizens suspected of money laundering overseas and telecommunications fraud have been placed under arrest by Chinese law enforcement agencies. month. The Ministry of Public Security in China said this month that from January to November 2023, its departments had resolved 391,000 incidents of internet and telecom fraud.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said on January 5 that the ministry initiated multiple law enforcement operations targeting online fraud and telecommunications in 2023 as part of a heavy crackdown on related illicit activities. 263 financial professionals were among the 79,000 suspects apprehended in total. oversaw or served as the leader of such efforts. Additionally, the ministry has sent task teams to Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia in order to take part in international law enforcement operations. According to the report, almost 3,000 people were apprehended and many overseas criminal bases were dismantled.