Hong Kong police arrest 7 over alleged links to transnational money laundering network

Hong Kong police have arrested seven people suspected of being involved in an international money laundering network that is involved in tech support fraud. The arrest was made in collaboration with agents from Singapore and Interpol.

The syndicate was involved in laundering more than HK$100 million (US$12.83 million), Hong Kong police said on Friday. They arrested a mastermind, three syndicate members and three cash couriers, aged between 33 and 43, on suspicion of conspiracy to launder money.

The operation, codenamed “Blackbrain,” was launched on August 9 after law enforcement discovered that a suspected mule bank account holder had received approximately $120,000 in offshore deposits in a single day.

Officers immediately alerted Interpol and Singapore police, who later discovered that one of the transfers had come from a victim of an investment fraud in the United States, Hong Kong police said.

Singapore police said the tech-support scam syndicate targeted unsuspecting victims in many jurisdictions, including the city-state, and laundered the criminal proceeds through Hong Kong.

“The fake pop-up was a ruse to obtain the victim’s online banking details. By abusing the remote access software, the scammers were able to remotely control the victim’s computer to carry out unauthorized banking transactions,” said David Chew, director of the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department.

Hong Kong police searched three properties in the city this week.

The suspects used their accounts to receive more than HK$33 million from fraud victims in Singapore and HK$5.2 million from local victims.

Police seized approximately HK$300,000 in cash and more than 60 bank cards during the operation. Another HK$1.3 million in proceeds of crime was successfully recovered.

Singapore police also arrested a 23-year-old man for his alleged involvement.

He is said to have transferred his bank account to a gang with ties to the fraudsters.

Five suspects have been charged with a total of three money laundering offences. The cases were heard in the Eastern Court this week.

Police previously warned that tech support scams, which are common in the West and Singapore, are also becoming more common in Hong Kong.

Victims unknowingly provided their bank details after being made to believe that their computer was infected with a virus.

Scammers posed as tech support workers and police officers, communicated mostly in English and targeted foreigners living in Hong Kong or residents who spoke the language.

Singapore police received 185 reports of such scams in the first seven months of this year, resulting in losses of at least S$17.9 million (US$13.6 million).

Hong Kong police have reminded the public that using personal bank accounts or providing accounts to others for illegal purposes may constitute a money laundering offence.

If found guilty, the maximum penalty is 14 years in prison and a fine of HK$5 million.