A 44-year-old man used two bank accounts he opened more than three years ago to launder more than HK$11.96 million in criminal proceeds for a fraud syndicate that planned online job scams. In August 2021, law enforcement agencies launched an anti-money laundering operation codenamed "Check Yan" and arrested 6 men and 3 women in multiple districts across Hong Kong. As for the man involved in the case, he pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering in the District Court today (3rd). The law enforcement department applied for an increase in sentence in accordance with the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. The judge finally approved the application and sentenced the man to 48 days in prison. months.
According to the investigation, the 44-year-old defendant named Liu is the holder of a puppet account. He was tricked by a fraud group into providing his personal bank account or selling his account to a fraud group for the purpose of receiving fraudulent money and laundering proceeds of crime. . The fraud syndicate earns commissions by inducing victims to add designated products to the shopping cart on the shopping platform and deposit the money into a designated bank account.
After investigation by the law enforcement agencies and seeking legal advice, six of the holders of the puppet accounts, including the defendant in this case, were charged with "money laundering". It was discovered that he was suspected of laundering HK$8.51 million and HK$3.45 million in two bank accounts respectively. proceeds of crime. After discussions and consultation with the Department of Justice, the law enforcement agencies believed that the relevant money laundering cases were becoming more serious, and applied for increased penalties in accordance with Section 27 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. The court approved the application after review, and the man was sentenced to a one-third increase in sentence. After taking other factors into consideration, he was finally sentenced to 48 months in prison.
Original URL:on.cc
