Hong Kong Police Dismantle Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Syndicate

According to PANews, Hong Kong's Wong Tai Sin District Crime Unit conducted an operation codenamed 'Lian Dou' from September 19 to 26, successfully dismantling a local syndicate involved in laundering money through cryptocurrency. The operation led to the arrest of 25 individuals connected to at least 39 fraud cases, with the total amount defrauded exceeding HKD 7 million. Among those arrested were the syndicate's mastermind, three key members, and 21 account holders, all suspected of 'obtaining property by deception' and 'money laundering.' Through in-depth analysis, the police uncovered that the local cryptocurrency money laundering syndicate had been operational since May 2023, involving at least 39 fraud cases across Hong Kong. The syndicate utilized puppet information to open both bank and cryptocurrency exchange accounts. Key members had clearly defined roles, using various types of fraud to deceive victims and deposit the money into designated puppet bank accounts. Subsequently, some key members used the same puppet information to open exchange accounts for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, purchasing cryptocurrency with the illicit gains. Other key members then transferred the 'cleaned' cryptocurrency to the mastermind's exchange account through the same platform or cold wallets. Additionally, the police discovered that the syndicate opened accounts on exchange platforms using shell companies to further conceal their identities. This 'money in, cryptocurrency out' method, coupled with the use of shell companies to hide identities, posed significant challenges to the police investigation.