On October 16, the Hong Kong Customs announced a significant crackdown on a suspected money laundering operation involving approximately HKD 1.6 billion. Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the case.
According to the Hong Kong Customs, the operation, codenamed “Spark,” targeted a money exchange shop believed to be laundering funds. The compliance officer of the shop was accused of establishing a shell company to clean around HKD 600 million in proceeds of crime.
In a follow-up investigation, customs officers uncovered that this compliance officer had also controlled two other shell companies. Since 2020, they opened 23 bank accounts across multiple banks in Hong Kong, processing over 4,000 suspicious transactions. The investigation further revealed that a bank employee may have assisted the arrested individuals in evading scrutiny of customer transactions.
On October 15 and 16, customs officials launched a second operation, codenamed “Spark II,” resulting in the arrest of five Hong Kong men aged between 34 and 71. Those arrested included the former compliance officer of the money exchange shop, a company secretary, a bank employee, and a former company director. During the operation, multiple mobile phones were seized, and those arrested are suspected of aiding in the processing of criminal proceeds.
Hong Kong Customs stated that the investigation is ongoing, and all individuals arrested are currently on bail while awaiting further developments. They also indicated that there might be more arrests in the future.
