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A 31-year-old man was sentenced to an imprisonment of 21 months at District Court for money laundering today (February 22).
The court heard that between June and September 2011, a bank ran a promotion campaign in which credit card users could earn coupons that could be redeemed at a supermarket chain. The bank later noticed the face value of coupons received from the supermarket chain was far in excess of the amount issued. Some 44,000 coupons were found to be high quality forgeries, which involved an amount of $2,935,000. The bank reported the case to Police in February 2012.
Officers of the Commercial Crime Bureau took over the case. Investigations revealed that the defendant sold forged coupons at an auction website and generated money from the online sale of coupons.
The defendant was arrested in February 2012 and subsequently charged. He was convicted of two counts of money laundering and sentence was handed down today.
Police will continue to maintain a close partnership with the banking industry to ensure adequate crime prevention measures are taken to safeguard their products and services.
Police also remind the public to exercise caution if offered discount and promotion coupons in excessive quantities or at unrealistic discounts. Members of the public can always seek advice from the issuing companies if they have any doubt as to their authenticity.
Police Report No. 161
Issued by PPRB
Ends/Friday, February 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:42
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