On July 22, according to the Sing Tao Daily, Hong Kong Customs today uncovered a case suspected of money laundering through smuggling cash and virtual assets, involving an amount of approximately 1.15 billion Hong Kong dollars, and arrested a local male and a non-local male.
Customs previously identified a 37-year-old local male and a 50-year-old non-local male based on intelligence and conducted a financial investigation, discovering that the two were suspected of smuggling cash out of the country and frequently conducting large-scale, rapid stablecoin and legal tender transactions with unclear fund sources that were highly inconsistent with their backgrounds, suspected of money laundering.
After an in-depth investigation, Customs conducted a surprise search of 4 residential units and 2 companies early this morning and arrested the two men under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance on charges of "handling property known or believed to be proceeds of crime" (i.e., money laundering). During the operation, Customs seized multiple mobile phones, tablets, and bank cards suspected to be related to the case. The investigation is ongoing, and both men are currently released on bail, with the possibility of more arrests.
