HK$74m laundered through domestic helpers’ virtual bank account

Police have cracked a crime syndicate that lured foreign domestic helpers into opening virtual bank accounts to launder up to HK$74 million from illegal gambling revenue over the last two years.

Police arrested 21 individuals, including six key members of the syndicate, two managers of domestic helper agencies and 11 puppet account holders. Among the arrestees, 12 are foreigners. 

Officers identified the syndicate and launched an operation on Tuesday (Jan 21) and Wednesday (Jan 22) targeting two local domestic helper agencies and several residences.

During the operation, the police seized about HK$150,000 in cash, 17 bank cards, four luxury watches, 26 mobile phones and five computers.

It is believed that the two core members of the syndicate were sent to two domestic helper agencies, providing incentives such as HK$300 to HK$1,000 or second-hand phones for foreign domestic helpers to open and provide virtual bank accounts.

The helpers were then instructed to meet in the park, fast food restaurants, or employment centers to create accounts using the prepared phones and banking applications.

After successfully setting up the accounts, the criminals would have direct control over them to deal with the profits from illegal gambling. It is reported that a total of HK$74 million was involved from February 2022 to June 2024.

Officers believe the operation has effectively cracked an active money laundering group and investigations on the flow of other suspected funds are ongoing.

Police stressed that it is alarming for foreign domestic helpers to be enticed to register bank accounts for money laundering, noting more anti-crime messages will be promoted to foreign workers in the city.

According to the police, Hong Kong recorded 40,470 fraud cases as of November 2024, marking an increase of 8.7 percent.