Bitcoin News and Finance
Hong Kong Busts Money Laundering Ring Using Tether to Wash Millions Skip to main content

Hong Kong Busts Money Laundering Ring Using Tether to Wash Millions

Hong Kong Busts Money Laundering Ring Using Tether to Wash Millions

Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested four people suspected of money laundering a total of $155 million through cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts. The city’s customs agency said this was its first case in which virtual money had been used to launder dirty cash.

Money Laundering Syndicate Recycles $155 Million in Crypto and Fiat Transactions

The criminal group is believed to have processed illegal funds for a total of 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars ($155 million), Hong Kong Customs announced Thursday. In an operation code-named “Coin Breaker,” officers detained the suspected ring leader and three other residents of China’s special administrative region.

The money laundering syndicate started its criminal activities last year and has been using three shell companies. The entities opened e-wallet accounts with an unnamed digital asset platform to trade the stablecoin tether (USDT). Authorities think the mastermind of the scheme convinced the other individuals to register as executives of the three firms.

Hong Kong Busts Money Laundering Ring Using Tether to Wash Millions

“Our investigation revealed that the syndicate laundered about HK$880 million ($113 million) through the cryptocurrency between February 2020 and May 2021,” said Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwan of the Customs’ Syndicate Crimes Investigation Bureau. Quoted by the South China Morning Post, the official added that the coins involved in the transactions came from around 40 e-wallet accounts.

According to Superintendent Grace Tang Wai-ngan, 150 million Hong Kong dollars’ worth of crypto from the total amount was transferred to more than 20 e-wallets. The remaining 730 million Hong Kong dollars were cashed out and the money was deposited into eight bank accounts owned by the three shell companies.

Around 500 cryptocurrency transactions passed through the firms’ wallets in just six months, she explained. These transactions averaged 400,000 coins, or more than 3.1 million Hong Kong dollars (about $400,000), with the largest involving $20 million worth of crypto.

Suspects Allegedly Launder $350 Million Through Regular Fiat Channels

Besides the 880 million Hong Kong dollars handled through cryptocurrency, officials claim that another 350 million Hong Kong dollars ($45 million) were laundered through conventional means. The funds were transferred into the same eight bank accounts via 100 other accounts including business accounts belonging to 18 different shell companies registered in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Busts Money Laundering Ring Using Tether to Wash Millions

A total of 1.08 billion Hong Kong dollars (almost $140 million) was in the end deposited into more than 200 bank accounts. These included personal accounts and accounts controlled by money changers, investment companies, and real estate firms in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions.

Investigators established that 60% of the funds had been transferred through bank accounts in Singapore where Hong Kong authorities asked law enforcement officials to support their efforts to track the money. Hong Kong Customs now plans to enhance its cooperation with other agencies and regulators to address the use of cryptocurrency in money laundering crimes.

The investigation into the origins of the funds, the initial senders, and ultimate receivers of the laundered money continues. According to the South China Morning Post, the four suspects have been released on bail. Their money laundering offenses could lead to a maximum prison sentence of 14 years and a 5 million Hong Kong dollars fine (around $640,000).

What are your thoughts on the money laundering case in Hong Kong? Let us know in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory