Hong Kong nabs 2 in record $446m money laundering case
Hong Kong Customs has arrested two men involved in one of the city’s largest money-laundering cases ever.
The suspects traded some 8 tonnes of mainly gold and palladium, valued at about HK$3.5 billion (S$632 million), over a two-year period. It was the largest ever amount among cases discovered in Hong Kong.
The authorities arrested two men, aged 30 and 48, last week for money laundering.
They searched homes, two secretariat companies, a precious metal firm and a local foreign exchange shop.
The two men allegedly sold metals and transferred money to some mainland Chinese companies or offshore shell accounts, Rita Li, the head of the Syndicate Crimes Investigation Bureau of Customs, said on Wednesday.
Customs found no evidence that the two suspects were acquaintances, but they engaged with the same security company that could indicate a syndicate, Li said.
The two men were released on bail while the investigation continues.
“Precious metals are high in value and small in size, and are still allowed to be sold anonymously in the city,” Li said.
Just last month, police arrested four suspected triad gang members in connection with laundering HK$411 million in crime proceeds over two years.