A money-laundering ring in Hong Kong was discovered by the authorities to be processing HK$1.2 billion worth of illegal money which is equivalent to US$155 million.
Police also discovered that 60% of the illegal funds are being transferred to accounts based in Singapore. Hong Kong authorities are currently coordinating with their counterparts there.
The recent operation, which was nicknamed ”Coin Breaker”, was the first crypto money-laundering bust done in the city, and the police have successfully arrested the ring leader, including the other members of the syndicate.
Frozen
According to Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan, the police have discovered a $HK$20 million fund in the ring’s possession, which the authorities immediately froze. They believe that this large fund is part of the ring’s “revenue” from their illegal operation.
The successful bust also netted three other Hong Kong residents who were believed to be recruited by the ring to present themselves as the “directors” of shell companies.
“The three men were recruited by the syndicate with monetary rewards, and each received between HK$10,000 and HK$20,000 a month,” Woo said.
The backgrounds of these three men, according to Woo, are far from being company directors. According to him, the suspects were a physical trainer, an insurance agent, and a construction worker.
Boatloads of money
The authorities found out that throughout the group’s 15 months of operation, it has already managed to produce an astounding HK$880 million.
Superintendent Grace Tang Wai-ngan said that HK$150 million of the HK$880 million were in the form of crypto coins and flowed through 40 e-wallets.
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