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One Dutch and two British men, aged between 36 and 46, were jailed for six months to five years today (May 23) for using a false instrument and money laundering.
The courts heard that between November 2011 and January 2013, the three defendants came to Hong Kong and set up companies and bank accounts for receiving crime proceeds of email scams and other frauds. One of the defendants was also found to have produced false documents to set up a company.
Investigation of the Commercial Crime Bureau revealed that two of the defendants had used seven bank accounts to deal with the crime proceeds amounting to $11.2 million.
The three defendants were respectively charged with four counts of "Dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence", three counts of "Dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offence" and two counts of "Using a false instrument". They were convicted at District Court and Eastern Magistrates' Court earlier and were jailed for six months to five years today.
Police call on the business sector to be alert of suspicious emails and take the initiative to confirm the true identities of recipients by telephone, facsimile or other means before remittances; and report suspicious cases to the Police. In addition, they should remain vigilant when handling the requests from suspicious clients for setting up companies or opening bank accounts to avoid being used for money laundering activities.
Police Report No. 378
Ends/Thursday, May 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 22:03
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