Hong Kong Customs detects money laundering case involving $8.9 billion via fictitious trading activities
Hong Kong Customs mounted an enforcement operation codenamed "Mirage" on December 18 and 19 and successfully dismantled a money laundering syndicate. Five local persons suspected to be connected with the case were arrested. They were suspected of laundering about $8.9 billion in funds from unknown sources via fictitious trading activities.
Acting upon intelligence, Customs targeted three local persons and initiated a financial investigation. It was revealed that the three persons opened multiple local company and personal bank accounts between January 2022 and December 2025 to deal with over 3 700 suspicious transactions totalling about $8.9 billion.
After an in-depth investigation,Customs conducted the enforcement operation on the aforesaid dates. Two local males and three local females, aged between 28 and 59 and suspected to be connected with the case, were arrested for "dealing with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence" (commonly known as money laundering) under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO).
During the operation, Customs raided multiple local premises, including three residential units and three commercial premises. A batch of items suspected to be connected with the case, including a number of mobile phones, cheque books, and trade documents, was seized. About $55 million worth of assets under the names of the arrestees have been frozen and put under close monitoring.
The investigation is ongoing. The five arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation, and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
Customs reminds members of the public that they may risk committing the crime of money laundering if they use personal or company bank accounts to deal with money from unknown sources, regardless of whether a monetary reward is involved.
Under the OSCO, a person commits an offence if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property in whole or in part, directly or indirectly represents any person's proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years, while the crime proceeds are also subject to confiscation.
Members of the public may report any suspected money laundering activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
The Hong Kong Customs
Remarks by STL at media session
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, at a media session today (December 23) with the Commissioner for Transport, Ms Angela Lee, after visiting the Lantau Charging Station cum Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles Information Centre:
Reporter: You mentioned that the Christmas and New Year period is around the corner. We just want to know that do you have any specific plans to offer those high-spending or overnight tourists to stay in Hong Kong and spend their holiday here? In the long term, how do you envision this transport scheme as a booster for Hong Kong's tourism and economy?
Secretary for Transport and Logistics: Today is the formal launch of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area). It is a policy breakthrough, which involves close collaboration between the Guangdong and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region authorities. It involves close partnership of system integration as well as procedural integration. We are very pleased and delighted to welcome the first batch of such kind of vehicles from Guangdong. We can visualise them passing through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which is a world-class transport infrastructure. A few of the visitors coming to Hong Kong today told me that they enjoy driving their own cars through this piece of important transport infrastructure. We expect such kind of visitors to stay overnight in Hong Kong, shopping, eating, having business meetings as well as visiting various theme parks. I know that some of them have already booked hotels in Hong Kong, and we are very encouraged by the positive response from various industry stakeholders, including CLPe, which provides charging facilities for southbound-travel Guangdong vehicles.
We are also encouraged to see that the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners has enlisted the support of more than 20 hotels to participate in this scheme, in which concessionary packages are offered to these visitors. I look forward to an even more positive response from various industry stakeholders. Christmas and New Year are coming around, and we will soon be celebrating the Chinese New Year in February next year. We will gather all the important information about the celebratory activities, as well as business conferences, sports and cultural events, and concerts. Such information is to be included on the Transport Department's dedicated webpage to provide one-stop shop information. We have also contacted platforms like Amap or Baidu, which will provide all the essential information in their apps, so that when Guangdong visitors switch on their apps, they can easily get information about the road conditions and essential transport facilities in Hong Kong. Thank you.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
Ms Mable Chan, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Photo source: FB of Transport and Logistics Bureau
The Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles, Photo source: news.gov.hk
