Hong Kong police arrested 12 people involved in a cross -border money laundering scheme that depended on crypto and more than 500 Stooge bank accounts to wash HK $ 118 million ($ 15 million), local media reported.
The union was dismantled on May 15, which resulted in the trial of nine men and three women in Continental and Hong Kong.
The suspicious allegedly recruited others to open bank accounts to receive processed cases, which became cryptography in cryptographic exchange stores to wash illicit funds, reported Hong Kong Commercial Daily on May 17.
The criminal organization rented a residential unit in the Mong Kok Hong Kong neighborhood to plan and carry out its money laundering activities. Of the $ 15 million washed, more than $ 1.2 million were linked to 58 cases of fraud reported.
Caught in action
The bust followed police surveillance on May 15, when two recruits left the Mong Kok base of the union, a visiting a bank, the other an ATM, before converting cash into cryptography into a cryptographic exchange store in the neighborhood.
Police arrested both people on the spot, taking around HK $ 770,000 ($ 98,540) in cash before the funds could be washed. The other 10 individuals, between 20 and 41, were arrested shortly after.
Police confiscated approximately HK $ 1.05 million ($ 134,370) in cash, more than 560 ATM cards, multiple mobile phones, bank documents and records related to cryptographic transactions.
The senior inspector Tse Ka-Lun of the Office of Commercial Crimes of Hong Kong said that people often used bank accounts of their friends and family to wash the stolen funds.
Hong Kong reported an annual increase in fraud reports in 2024, and the authorities carry out more than 10,000 trials related to fraud. Or those judgments, about 73% involved people who had Stooge bank accounts.
Related: The DOJ charges 12 players more than $ 263 million Bitcoins thieves
Repression occurs as Hong Kong continues to deploy its cryptographic regulatory framework to support local innovation, protect consumers and establish themselves as a cryptographic center.
The Hong Kong Securities and Future Commission introduced new rules for encryption exchanges that offer battery services in April. Two months earlier, the Securities Regulator launched a roadmap to improve market access, optimize compliance, expand products offers, strengthen cryptographic infrastructure and promote relationships with industry actors.
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