Hong Kong customs arrests five in $8.9 billion fake trade money laundering case

Customs officers last week arrested five locals suspected of laundering HK$8.9 billion through fake trade transactions involving sophisticated counterfeit shipping websites and documents.

The syndicate created elaborate bogus company sites and false trade papers to deceive banks during due diligence, simulating "phantom trading." 

In one example, the group claimed to ship goods worth HK$86 million, receiving matching payments, with fake shipping details verifiable on their phony websites.

Investigations began after spotting three core members handling suspicious funds from overseas firms in the Middle East and Africa. 

These rapidly flowed to licensed money changers, local and mainland companies, and individuals.

From January 2022 to December 2025, the trio opened 15 companies and 14 personal accounts across 14 banks, processing over 3,700 unknown transfers totaling HK$8.9 billion. 

Their companies lacked customs records and used residential or shared addresses.

Two additional women linked financially to the core group were arrested for handling criminal proceeds.

Raids on homes in North Point and Tseung Kwan O, plus offices in North Point and Prince Edward, seized phones, bank cards, checks, tax documents, and fake trade papers.

All suspects are on bail, with combined assets worth HK$55 million frozen or monitored.

Authorities continue probing backgrounds, fund sources, flows, and fake sites, warning of possible further arrests.

This marks the first detection of such elaborate counterfeit websites masking ghost trades, complicating detection due to the massive scale and complexity.