Hong Kong Customs detects money laundering case involving about $11.3 million following illicit cigarette investigation
Hong Kong Customs yesterday (May 12) mounted an operation codenamed "Sabre" and successfully detected a suspected money laundering case involving about $11.3 million in illicit cigarette proceeds, subsequent to a follow-up investigation into a suspected illicit cigarette storage case identified earlier this year. Two men and one woman suspected to be connected with the case were arrested.
In January this year, Customs raided a suspected illicit cigarette storage facility in Ngau Tam Mei, Yuen Long, and seized around 2.2 million suspected illicit cigarettes. A 37-year-old man connected with the case was arrested. A subsequent financial investigation revealed that the arrested man has been using his own and a 35-year-old woman's personal bank accounts to receive payments for illicit cigarettes since 2025. Upon further investigation, another man, aged 31, was identified and suspected to be supplying illicit cigarettes to the 37-year-old man for distribution. Fund-flow analysis further revealed that there were numerous suspicious transactions in the personal bank accounts of the two men between January 2021 and February this year. They were suspected to be using their local personal accounts to deal with suspicious funds, including proceeds from selling illicit cigarettes, and participating in money laundering activities.
Following in-depth investigations, Customs officers yesterday raided five residential premises and arrested two local men and one local woman 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, a batch of items suspected to be connected with the case was seized, including mobile phones and bank cards.
An investigation is ongoing. The three arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation. The likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
Relevant offences relating to duty-not-paid tobacco have been listed under the OSCO, enabling Customs to freeze assets associated with related criminal activities. Customs will consult with the Department of Justice to apply to the Court for enhanced sentencing under the OSCO, with a view to heightening deterrence.
Customs stresses that it is an offence to buy or sell illicit cigarettes. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, any person who deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
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).
Hong Kong Customs, Photo source: reference image
Online auction of vehicle registration marks to be held from May 28 to June 1
The Transport Department (TD) today (May 13) said that the next online auction of vehicle registration marks (VRMs) will be held from noon on May 28 (Thursday) to noon on June 1 (Monday) through the auction platform E-Auction (e-auction.td.gov.hk). Interested bidders can participate in the online auction only after they have successfully registered as E-Auction users.
A spokesman for the TD said, "A total of 220 Ordinary VRMs will be available at this online public auction. The list of VRMs (see Annex) has been uploaded to the E-Auction website. Applicants who have paid a $1,000 deposit to reserve an Ordinary VRM for auction should also register as an E-Auction user in advance in order to participate in the online bidding, including placing the first bid at the opening price of $1,000. Otherwise, the VRMs reserved by them may be bid on by other interested bidders at or above the opening price. Auctions for VRMs with 'HK' or 'XX' as a prefix, special VRMs and personalised VRMs will continue to be carried out through physical auctions by bidding paddles and their announcement arrangements remain unchanged."
Members of the public participating in the online bidding should take note of the following important points:
(1) Bidders should register in advance as an E-Auction user by "iAM Smart+" equipped with the digital signing function; or by using a valid digital certificate and an email address upon completion of identity verification. Registered "iAM Smart" users should provide their Hong Kong identity card number, while non-Hong Kong residents who are not "iAM Smart" users should provide the number of their passport or other identification documents when registering as E-Auction users.
(2) Bidders are required to provide a digital signature to confirm the submission and amount of the bid by using "iAM Smart+" or a valid digital certificate at the time of the first bid of each online bidding session (including setting automatic bids before the auction begins) to comply with the requirements of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance.
(3) If a bid is made in respect of a VRM within the last 10 minutes before the end of the auction, the auction end time for that particular VRM will be automatically extended by another 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 24 hours.
(4) Successful bidders must follow the instructions in the notification email issued by the TD to log in to the E-Auction within 48 hours from the issuance of email and complete the follow-up procedures, including:
completing the Purchaser Information for the issuance of the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark (Memorandum of Sale); and
making the auction payment online by credit card, Faster Payment System (FPS) or Payment by Phone Service (PPS). Cheque or cash payment is not accepted in the E-Auction.
(5) A VRM can only be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. Relevant information on the Certificate of Incorporation must be provided by the successful bidder in the Purchaser Information of the Memorandum of Sale if the VRM purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.
(6) Successful bidders will receive a notification email around seven working days after payment has been confirmed and can download the Memorandum of Sale from the E-Auction. The purchaser must apply for the VRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser within 12 months from the date of issue of the Memorandum of Sale. If the purchaser fails to do so within the 12-month period, in accordance with the statutory provision, the allocation of the VRM will be cancelled and a new allocation will be arranged by the TD without prior notice to the purchaser.
The TD has informed all applicants who have reserved Ordinary VRMs for this round of auction of the E-Auction arrangements in detail by post. Members of the public may refer to the E-Auction website or watch the tutorial videos for more information. Please call the E-Auction hotline (3583 3980) or email (e-auction-enquiry@td.gov.hk) for enquiries.
Source: AI-found images
