
In a crackdown on the conspiracy to hide HK$600 million in shell company, Hong Kong customs arrested four individuals, including siblings, on charges of laundering the money.
Hong Kong customs has arrested four people, including two siblings, in a crackdown on a money-laundering syndicate accused of processing $600 million in two and half years through the bank accounts of a shell company. 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 a 39-year-old sister who served as the director of an investment company. The investment firm and the money changer were occupied by two adjacent ground-floor shops in North Point. Inspector Billy Au said shell company claimed to provide computer trading and technology consulting services, but no actual business was involved. The fourth suspect, Xiaomei Chen, 35, worked as a compliance officer at the currency exchange company.
Inspector Billy Au Wing-cheung of customs' financial investigation bureau said intelligence suggested the money changer handled a large amount of suspicious remittance transactions through 12 bank accounts of a shell company set up by the compliance officer. There were no records of the company's transactions, and the compliance officer had only reported his income from the money changer to the Inland Revenue Department. The accounts also handled more than 1,800 transactions involving HK$600 million, Au said, which was between January 2021 and July 2023. The firm handled up to 19 deals a day, with the biggest single-day transaction amounting to HK$19 million. The money came from a bank account of third-party companies in Hong Kong and abroad. He added that he was unable to say if he had anything to do with the incident. After months of investigation, customs officers began an arrest operation on Wednesday and pick up the three siblings and the 35-year-old compliance officer during raids on four flats and the two North Point shops. The four suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to launder money, which is a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison and a fine of HK$5 million. On bail, they have been released on bail, pending further investigation. In the operation, officers seized computers, mobile phones, remittance receipts and bank documents. The source of the money, received by taxpayers and the illegal activities behind the money, Au said. The investigation was ongoing and further arrests were possible, he said.