22 suspects arrested over MOP1.1b laundering

Police authorities in Macau and Hong Kong have detained 22 people over suspected cross-border money laundering that involves MOP1.1 billion patacas.

In a statement, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said that the syndicate had been operating since October 2020 and had instructed several members to open 181 bank accounts in Hong Kong to receive and process electronic payments.

The bank accounts had also served to receive deposits of large sums of money from several countries.

Since July 2021, several members of the group were sent to Macau to withdraw money from ATMs using Hong Kong cards. 

The PJ added that the group also purchased virtual currency through a telecommunications store that was then sold on to ‘offshore’ commercial platforms. The money would then be withdrawn in Macau as part of the money laundering operation.

Around MOP1.1 billion were found in suspicious deposits.  The group members withdrew around MOP358 million patacas in Macau and Hong Kong.

Five men have been transferred to the Public Prosecutors Office while 17 are detained in Hong Kong. LV