Over the past three weeks, the police have launched an operation codenamed “Operation Mougong,” targeting criminal syndicates involved in various types of scams, technology crimes, and money laundering offenses. A total of 682 suspects aged between 14 and 89 were arrested, involving 580 cases totaling HK$620 million (RM313 million).
According to Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po reports, among them, the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) uncovered an online romance scam syndicate and a crime group that laundered money through virtual currency during Operation “WarNet” on the 17th and 18th of last month. A total of 8 men and 3 women (aged 24 to 73), including three masterminds and one key member, were arrested. Two of them have been provisionally charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud and were brought before the magistrates' courts earlier. Over the past 16 months, this scam syndicate defrauded 314 people, involving HK$44 million (RM22.21 million).
On the 2nd, CSTCB Superintendent Cheung Hau-yee stated that the investigation revealed the syndicate operated as a family business. To cover their tracks, they rented units in industrial buildings both for residing and as scam bases, as well as private flats as “vaults”. They would use various dating apps, adopting fake avatars to pose as young women. The phone scams were actually controlled by a male key member behind the scenes. Fraudsters would proactively start conversations with victims, claim to be working overseas, use fabricated relationships and stories of life hardships to win sympathy, and later mention thoughts of suicide to elicit further compassion—all without the victim and scammer ever meeting in person.
Once the relationship developed to a certain stage, the syndicate would pretend to be the scammer's boss or an overseas police officer, claiming the person had passed away. They would provide forged company cards and inheritance certificates, claiming to assist the victim in inheriting a legacy, thereby scamming victims into paying “processing fees” to claim the inheritance. After payment was made, all scammers would lose contact. Police also discovered that this syndicate impersonated law enforcement officers for a second round of scamming. They would call victims again, falsely claiming the case had been solved, and that the victim could retrieve the scammed funds by paying an administration fee. Some victims, unaware it was a scam, made another transfer to mule accounts and suffered a second loss. The police recorded a total of 62 such cases, involving over HK$7.4 million (RM3.736 million).
On the 17th of last month, police moved in and found the industrial unit's facade disguised as a live streaming company, with the masterminds and key members living there. During the operation, police seized some victims’ bank transaction records, forged company cards, HK$1 million in cash (RM504,900), luxury watches, liquor, jewelry, and other items totaling over HK$6 million (RM3.029 million).
The investigation also found the scam syndicate laundered crime proceeds through an active Hong Kong money laundering group, using over 200 puppet bank accounts to move funds, and also cashed out proceeds by trading virtual currency. Police believe this money laundering group assisted in cleaning HK$44 million of criminal gains.