The Judiciary Police have separately arrested a woman from the mainland and three male mainlanders for engaging in illegal currency exchange transactions, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a special press conference yesterday.
In the first case, the 37-year-old woman surnamed Zhong is a farmer.
On Thursday, Zhong offered an illegal currency exchange deal to two gamblers outside a Cotai casino. After Zhong transferred 67,900 yuan to one of the gamblers, they handed HK$70,000 in cash to Zhong’s accomplice who then left the scene.
Subsequently, when the gambler who had received the funds attempted to share the money with his companion via a bank transfer, the bank rejected the transaction. This led him to suspect the involvement of illicit activities in the transfer he had received, prompting him to report the case to the authorities.
Zhong was apprehended on the spot, while the two gamblers cooperated as witnesses in the investigation. It was later revealed that the bank had declined the transaction due to transfer limits, while the funds were legitimate.
In the second case, the three male suspects were involved in defrauding a mainland woman out of HK$100,000 last week through an illegal currency exchange deal. They transferred 93,500 yuan, which allegedly consisted of fraudulently obtained funds, to her account, leading to the freezing of her account.
The four suspects in the two cases have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing illegal currency exchange charges, while the trio in the second case also face fraud charges.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou looks on during a regular press conference yesterday. – Photo: William Chan
