Hong Kong police arrest 27 in connection with deception cases in which victims were cheated out of HK$10mil

Tan KW

Publish date: Thu, 15 Dec 2022, 05:09 PM

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Police have rounded up 27 Hong Kong residents in connection with 20 deception cases in which victims lost more than HK$10mil in total.

One of the suspects was a jobless man, 41, accused of cheating a mainland Chinese businessman out of 5.5mil yuan (US$791,000 or RM3.48mil) in a money-exchange fraud, the force said on Dec 15.

The suspect impersonated a banker when he met the merchant in the city in March. He claimed he knew friends who offered a lower rate to exchange renminbi into Hong Kong dollars and could help the victim to transfer money from the mainland, a source familiar with the case said.

After the businessman returned across the border, he followed instructions and transferred 5.5mil yuan into two designated bank accounts on the mainland via two transactions in the same month.

He realised he had been conned when no money was transferred into his bank account in Hong Kong and the scammers including the “banker” were unreachable. Police began an investigation after his relative in the city made a report last month.

According to the force, the suspect was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of obtaining property by deception - an offence punishable by up to 10 years under the Theft Ordinance.

The man was among 27 people arrested in a series of city-wide raids in an operation, code-named “Centurylord”, mounted by crime-squad officers from the Yau Tsim police district between Monday and Wednesday.

Police said the investigation showed the suspects - 18 men and nine women - were linked with 20 cases of deception that were reported early this year.

Inspector Yip Yan-wa on Thursday said the cases, involving financial losses of more than HK$10mil , included telephone deception, employment fraud, online romance scams and eshopping fraud.

She said a student, transport workers, waiters and unemployed people were among the suspects. During the operation, officers seized mobile phones, SIM cards, bank cards and related documents.

Yip said the suspects included core members of fraud syndicates and holders of bank accounts that were used to collect and launder the proceeds of crime.

The youngest suspect was a 15-year-old schoolboy accused of selling his bank account that was used to collect and launder scammed money. He was arrested for alleged money laundering - an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$5mil fine.

As of Thursday morning, all the suspects were still being held for questioning.

Police said the investigation was still under way and further arrests were possible.

Between January and October, police handled 22,309 reports of deception, up 42.7% from 15,636 cases logged in the same period last year.

- SCMP

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