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A 47-year-old man and a 33-year-old man were sentenced to five years and 40 months¡¦ imprisonment respectively today (February 29) at the District Court for money laundering.
The court heard that a 56-year-old female victim in Chongqing received a phone call from a person who claimed himself to be a Public Security Bureau officer, alleging her bank account was misused and instructed her to open two new bank accounts to transfer a sum of RMB $70,000 to another bank account in May 2010. The sum was withdrawn via Automatic Teller Machine in Hong Kong shortly afterwards.
The victim came to Hong Kong to make a report to the Police at the end of May 2010. After investigations, officers of the Commercial Crime Bureau arrested the two defendants in September 2010 with seizures of forged Hong Kong Identity Cards and false China Re-entry Permits used for laundering of crime proceeds. Written records indicating the laundering of about RMB $27,800,000 through 345 Mainland bank accounts between August 2008 and September 2010 were also seized.
The defendants were subsequently charged for conspiracy to deal with property known or believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offence. The 33-year-old man was also charged for conspiracy to possess false instruments. They were convicted of the charges at the District Court and the sentences were handed down today.
Police Report No. 247
Ends/Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 23:26
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