Hong Kong police have arrested 232 people in a fraud case onlinethat targeted an 80-year-old woman who was defrauded of 9.1 million Hong Kong dollars (one million euros), security forces announced.
According to the South China Morning Post, the operation took place over a week and targeted criminals posing as investment advisers and people selling their bank accounts to money laundering organizations.
During the investigation, 265 complaints were registered from 328 victims, aged between 19 and 80, who suffered losses of more than 180 million Hong Kong dollars (21.5 million euros), South China Morning Post reported.
According to Inspector Albert Chow Ka-yun of the Sau Mau Ping District Technological and Financial Crimes Brigade, the most serious case involved an octogenarian retiree who lost millions of local dollars.
The woman, who owned an apartment, spoke online for four months with a fraudster who posed as a potential tenant, claimed to be a banking analyst and convinced her to invest in cryptocurrencies, assuring her that he had inside information.
In the context of this process, the holder of a fictitious account was arrested, although other arrests are not excluded.
The anti-fraud operation ended on Saturday with the arrest of 157 men and 66 women, aged between 18 and 69, accused of fraud, fraud and money laundering.
Most of those arrested were “dummy account” holders who had lent their personal banking information to criminals in exchange for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Inspector Law Kwan-Kit of the Tseung Kwan O District Financial and Technology Crime Brigade said the group created a fake trading platform to attract people looking for low-risk, high-return investments.
“These fraudsters promote investments in cryptocurrencies, mainland Chinese stocks, precious metals and foreign currencies to lure victims,” Kwan-Kit added.
Authorities have urged people not to lend or sell their bank accounts to third parties to make a quick profit, saying they could be accused of money laundering even if they don’t know the origin or use of the money .
Money laundering in the former British colony carries a prison sentence of up to fourteen years and a fine of five million Hong Kong dollars (598 thousand euros).
Source: DN
