HK and mainland police arrest 69 people connected to fraud syndicate

A joint operation between Hong Kong and mainland police bust a syndicate engaging in fraud and money laundering involving more than 200 million dollars. 69 people have been arrested so far.

Local police and mainland officers held an operation targeting a syndicate involved in fraud and money laundering that resulted in the arrest of 54 men and 15 women aged between 18 and 60 yesterday.

Authorities took notice of the group after a woman residing in the mainland reported to the police last month about being involved in a suspected romance scam. The fraudsters instructed her to download a bogus cryptocurrency investment platform which claimed to offer major returns. The woman was subsequently asked to make the transfers via her digital bank account.

Hong Kong police says the scammers once showed investment returns of up to 970,000 dollars to the victim to trick her into believing the authenticity of the investment platform, leading her to make even bigger investments. The woman transferred over 10 million dollars to 10 local bank accounts between March and May this year, after which the syndicate transferred the proceeds to another 106 local accounts.

The police later successfully retrieved 4.7 million dollars, pointing out the bogus accounts belonged to 98 mainlanders and 17 locals, with one other person holding an overseas passport. Further investigation revealed the syndicate was involved in more bogus accounts and fraud cases.

Authorities recorded a total of 1,210 investment scam cases in just the first three months of this year, which is a rise of 17% year-on-year. The police remind residents to be mindful of scammers' tactics of promoting online investment schemes, and urges residents to notify authorities if suspicions arise.