82-year-old woman found involved in laundering $ 15 million in cryptocurrency

The Hong Kong police detained 458 people in 314 cases related to fraud and money laundering totaling $ 60 million. Of this amount, about $ 15 million was laundered through cryptocurrencies. An 82-year-old woman is among the suspects.

Over eight months, from October 2022 to June 2023, the criminal syndicate laundered $ 15 million through cryptocurrencies, law enforcement officials said. The arrested included 330 men and 128 women aged 15 to 82.

Police said that the detainees were involved in financial crimes related to online shopping, job search, investments, phone calls, and online dating. The organizers of the criminal groups involved victims in their schemes by buying out empty bank accounts for amounts ranging from $ 40 to $ 200, and then using these accounts to launder the proceeds of crime.

As it became known, some of the suspects themselves became victims of fraud — they were promised participation in a refund program. To do this, users were fraudulently persuaded to hand over copies of their IDs, take selfies on their mobile phones, and help the criminals open virtual bank accounts, which were subsequently used for money laundering, including through cryptocurrencies.

As a reminder, a British pensioner from Nottinghamshire lost $ 207,000 in cryptocurrency as a victim of a romantic scam. The woman voluntarily transferred funds to her virtual partner’s bitcoin wallet. The attacker himself was in Nigeria and flirted with the woman only to steal bitcoins.