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A 49-year-old expatriate male was sentenced to 28 months for conspiracy to money laundering at District Court today (December 10).
The Court heard that a victim made a report to Police in February 2012, saying that he had received an email from a person who claimed to be his business partner and asked him to settle a $1.5 million bill at a new designated account in Hong Kong. The victim made the payment as instructed.
Commercial Crime Bureau took over the case for investigations. The defendant was found to have been employed from an overseas syndicate. He set up a company and opened bank accounts in November 2011 in Hong Kong to deal with crime proceeds generated from the email scam.
The defendant was arrested on February 21, 2012 when he attempted to withdraw the money at a bank in Mong Kok. The crime proceeds was frozen and later returned to the victim.
The defendant was subsequently charged with conspiracy to deal with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence. He was convicted of the offence and the sentence was handed down today.
Police appeal to the public to be cautious when receiving any unsolicited emails particularly relating to demands for fund transfer. They are also advised not to open bank accounts to receive or collect proceeds of dubious nature on behalf of others.
Police Report No.273
Ends/Monday, December 10, 2012
Issued at HKT 21:33
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