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A 51-year-old man was jailed for seven years for money laundering at the District Court today (February 7).
The court heard that four expatriate victims received phone calls from two women in 2010 and were lured to deposit about $1 million in total to given bank accounts for claiming a lottery prize that the victims had won. Victims later suspected it was a scam and reported the case.
Investigations by officers of the Commercial Crime Bureau revealed that the aforesaid bank accounts had been used to deal with $466 million suspected crime proceeds. Police arrested the 51-year-old man, who was the accounts holder, in June 2012. He was convicted after trial and was sentenced today.
Police remind the public to watch out for the crime and not to believe any anonymous calls or email messages and follow swindlers' instructions to bank in money into suspicious bank accounts. They should also report to Police when in doubt. Police reiterate that fraud and money laundering are serious offences. The maximum penalty is an imprisonment of 14 years. Police are determined to take enforcement actions against commercial crime in maintaining a safe business environment in Hong Kong.
Police Report No. 395
Ends/Friday, February 7, 2014
Issued at HKT 22:22
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