Two local jobless men who set up five companies to launder money from the mainland were arrested separately at their homes yesterday, in a case involving about 36 million patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special press conference yesterday.

The spokesperson said that the two suspects, who are in their thirties and forties, are surnamed Ao and Chong. Both were running the five companies.

The Judiciary Police were notified by the mainland’s Public Security Bureau (PSB), the local Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) and several banks recently about an alleged money-laundering case, in which two local men and five local firms were suspected of using the bank accounts of these companies to launder money.

Upon investigation, the police found that the five companies had continuously received proceeds from fraudulent activities conducted in the mainland between December 2022 and February this year, involving different types of fraud cases such as “fake police” scams, bogus order scams, investment scams, and “guess who I am” scams, according to the spokesperson.

Established between 2021 and 2023, the five companies comprising local residents and mainlanders were engaged in different kinds of purported businesses such as the wholesale of frozen meat, alcoholic beverages and electronic products, involving 438 cases involving  36 million patacas, the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson added that both suspects were arrested by PJ officers at their respective homes in the northern district, where the officers seized a total of HK$270,000 in cash, as well as six bank cards related to the cases.

The spokesperson said that a PJ investigation showed that the local duo had laundered about 9.6 million patacas of fraudulent funds, of which the local police seized more than seven million patacas from local bank accounts.

The spokesperson said that the trio refused to cooperate with the police.

The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of organised crime and money laundering, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that the Judiciary Police are continuing their investigation into the case. 

This photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) shows evidence such as cash in Hong Kong dollars, ATM cards and smartphones seized from the local money-laundering duo.

The two hooded male organised crime and money laundering suspects are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle after yesterday’s special press conference. – Photo: Ginnie Liang