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A 34-year-old man was jailed for six years for fraud and money laundering at the District Court today (May 20), while his 63-year-old mother was jailed for 2.5 years for money laundering.
The court heard that in early 2011, the male defendant, who was the manager of a local fuel oil trading company, arranged a Russian buyer to sign a contract for purchasing 40,000 metric tons of fuel oil from a Mainland supplier. The buyer later transferred US$6.6 million to a bank account of the male defendantˇ¦s 35-year-old wife, who immediately transferred the money to the accounts of the male defendant and his 63-year-old mother, while part of the proceeds was transferred to the male defendantˇ¦s bank account in the United States. Realizing the shipment was not forthcoming after payment, the buyer reported the case to Police in December that year.
After investigations, Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) acted swiftly to stop further dissipation of the funds and successfully froze the majority of the proceeds in various bank accounts of the defendants.
Officers of CCB arrested the male defendant, his wife and mother in the same month. The man was subsequently charged with one count of fraud and each of the three defendants was charged with one count of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence. The man and his mother were convicted of the offences and the sentence was handed down today. The 35-year-old defendant was acquitted.
Police report no. 303
Ends/Monday, May 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:02
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