Hong Kong police detect three virtual currency money laundering syndicates, involving more than 300 million Hong Kong dollars

Hong Kong law enforcement earlier launched an anti-money laundering operation code-named Weige, Black Brain and Youxia this month based on information and analysis. Three money laundering syndicates were smashed and 27 people (aged 19 to 55) were arrested. Investigating police officers said that in March this year, Hong Kong law enforcement agencies received an investigation request from the Singapore authorities, alleging that more than 30 fraudulent cases occurred in the local area, among which about 30 million yuan worth of fraudulent money was transferred to Hong Kong's puppet accounts through multiple transfers. Investigating police officers pointed out that in order to evade investigation, a group used a large number of account transfers and made multiple cash withdrawals to purchase virtual currencies on local virtual asset trading platforms. The Hong Kong police also disclosed data that in the first half of this year, law enforcement agencies arrested 5,693 people for money laundering-related crimes, an increase of 40% compared with the same period last year; among them, 4,465 were puppet account holders, accounting for 78% of those arrested.