A local man has been arrested for allegedly allowing a scammer to use one of his bank accounts which was then used for laundering money linked to at least four online investment scams, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press conference yesterday.
The 35-year-old suspect surnamed Iu works in a car repair shop. The local victims comprise two men and two women.
According to Ho, one of the female victims joined an online social media “investment” group last November for “investment tips”. Later, the victim downloaded a mobile app provided by the scammers, opened an account and invested in it 16 times totalling 3.24 million patacas. When she was unable to withdraw her funds, she reported the case to the police in February.
While tracking the money, the police discovered that Iu’s account had received money from at least four local victims, amounting to 190,000 patacas. Additionally, there were suspicious transactions totalling HK$1.4 million that had been deposited into his account in the past. The police investigation further uncovered that Iu promptly withdrew the funds every time he received them.
On Monday, Iu was summoned to a police station for questioning. Under questioning, he told the police that he had met a man at a casino last year who asked to “borrow” his account, to which Iu agreed. He insisted that he did not receive any compensation for the deal and claimed that all the money either went directly to the scammer or was used to purchase gold bars, which were then handed over to the scammer.
Iu was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of money laundering and scamming, Ho said.
The hooded male fraud and money-laundering suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle after yesterday’s special press conference. – Photo: William Chan
