Twelve people were arrested in Hong Kong and continental China for their alleged roles in a cross-border money laundering operation that moved $ 118 million HK ($ 15 million) thanks to cryptocurrency and hundreds of fraudulent bank accounts, said May 17.
According to Hong Kong Commercial Daily, the criminal union used more than 500 accounts so-called Stooge (bank accounts open or provided by third parties) to receive the product of fraud business.
The money was then channeled in local crypto exchanges, effectively masking its origins.
The crypto whitening ring operated from the apartment of Mong Kok, said the police
The group would have operated an apartment rented in Mong Kok, where they planned and coordinated money laundering activities.
Authorities say that more than $ 9.4 million HK ($ 1.2 million) can be linked to at least 58 experienced cases.
The operation was seized on May 15 after the police surveillance followed two suspected unions leaving the Mong Kok base – a bank, the other, an automatic window.
Later, the two people tried to convert money to cryptocurrency in a TSIM Sha Tsui store.
The agents intervened before the funds could be laundered, arresting both on the spot and entering around $ 770,000 HK ($ 98,540) in cash.
Ten additional suspects, aged 20 to 41, were apprehended shortly after.
During the raids, the authorities recovered approximately $ 1.05 million HK ($ 134,370) in cash, more than 560 ATM cards, several mobile phones and documents related to banking and cryptographic transactions.
The main Inspector TSE Ka-Lun of the Office of Commercial Crime said that many bank accounts used in the regime had been provided by friends and relatives of the people involved, often without understanding the full extent of criminal activity.
The arrests are involved in the midst of an increase in crimes related to fraud in the city. Fraud reports increased by 12% in 2024, with more than 10,000 related arrests.
HK Arrest Police 12 Suspects in crypto money laundering of $ 15 million tied to more than 500 bank accounts and 58 cases of fraud
15 million dollars are not even as much TBH, which barely worth the hassles. pic.twitter.com/qzsamebjb2
– Gordon (@altcoingordon) May 18, 2025
The police noted that around 73% of these cases involved individuals controlling Stooge accounts.
Hong Kong intensifies the repression of cryptography
The repression coincides with the wider efforts of Hong Kong to tighten the surveillance of its cryptography sector.
Last week, Hong Kong Cyber ​​Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) announced the launch of a tool for analyzing virtual assets to help in surveys on cryptographic crime.
Nicknamed “Cryptotrace”, the tool is developed in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong, offering “advanced intelligence and investigation support to crime investigation units”.
The office said that it had conducted virtual asset investigations and cryptotraces training sessions in March.
The course aimed to strengthen the capacities of first -line officers in the management of virtual assets.
In addition to fighting crimes related to crypto, the CSTCB has actively engaged with stakeholders in the sectors.
Titus, a legal cabinet in Hong Kong, noted that the city-state had lost $ 3.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2024 against scams linked to cryptography.
In addition, the government has recently exposed a sophisticated scam linked to the false “Hong Kong national pieces”. The scam has misled the public believing that the government would soon launch an official digital currency.
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