Hong Kong Arrests 3 in $1.8B Cryptocurrency Money Laundering

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Three people, including a 42-year-old woman and two men aged 48 and 60, have been taken into custody by Hong Kong authorities for their suspected involvement in a money-laundering operation worth HK$1.8 billion. The alleged scheme centered around several shell companies and cryptocurrency platforms.

Customs officers discovered unusual financial activity in bank accounts connected to shell companies with no tax documents or identifiable addresses. These accounts processed up to 39 million Hong Kong dollars each day, prompting investigations due to their suspicious nature.

Between June 2021 and July 2022, it is said that the suspects set up five businesses and eighteen local bank accounts. These transactions allegedly allowed for over a thousand questionable financial dealings. The scheme included moving funds from undisclosed origins through various entities, making it harder to trace the money’s source.

Florence Yeung Yee-tak, head of the customs’ financial investigation unit, acknowledged the complexities in tracking down cryptocurrency-linked money laundering due to its borderless nature. However, despite these complications, customs relied on intelligence and carried out in-depth analyses of capital movements and financial investigations to combat the illegal activity.

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2024-04-20 03:16