‘Cryptocurrency, downturn fuel money-laundering rise’

Police say there’s been a rise in the number of people allowing money launderers to use their bank accounts during the territory’s economic downturn.

The force’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau says it received close to 25,000 reports about suspicious transactions in the first five months of this year, a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The bureau’s chief superintendent Lam Man-han says the rise of online banking and virtual currencies have made it more difficult to detect money laundering.

“These virtual bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets are very easy to open. You don’t need face-to-face interaction with the account providers,” she said.

“It provides a very convenient and fast method for everyone to do money transactions. It’s very difficult and complicated for us to trace the money.”

Senior Superintendent Cheng Lai-ki says some crime syndicates recruited people who had financial difficulties amid the economic downturn to help launder their money.

“They will attract citizens to surrender their bank accounts for them to launder money or proceeds of crime,” she said.

“Some citizens who want to seek a job in a short period of time may fall into traps of surrendering their bank accounts to the crime syndicates. In the end they might be arrested for the money laundering offences.”