By Edith Lin

Copyright scmp

Hong Kong police have arrested 18 people for allegedly laundering HK$66 million (US$8.5 million) in crime proceeds as part of a crackdown on a syndicate suspected of operating from hotel rooms across the city to process the money using stooge bank accounts.
The force said on Friday the arrestees comprised four people suspected of acting as leading or core members and 14 alleged stooge bank account holders. They were arrested over the past two days.
“Our investigation shows that HK$66 million has been laundered in the past eight months through more than 30 bank accounts,” said Chief Inspector Man Chi-yeung of Hong Kong Island’s regional crime unit.
The 13 men and five women, aged between 29 and 61, were apprehended on suspicion of conspiring to launder money.
The force said the core syndicate members had allegedly been actively recruiting residents to open stooge bank accounts with traditional and virtual banks to handle the proceeds, including funds linked to non-local fraud cases.
The core members also instructed bank account holders to withdraw cash or make further transactions and used hotel rooms as their operational centres, police said.
“Core members rented hotel rooms in different districts as their mobile money laundering centres to organise and plan relevant activities, including arranging stooge bank account holders to operate their accounts,” Man said.
“They had a meticulous plan as they frequently changed their centres, every three to five days, to deliberately hide their identities.”
Man said police arrested the four suspected leading and core members, as well as two alleged holders of stooge bank accounts, in a hotel room in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday.
The force found HK$290,000 in cash, numerous mobile phones and a small amount of drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and etomidate.
The six suspects were also arrested for possession of dangerous drugs.
Police apprehended the other 12 suspects in different districts, adding that the enforcement action was ongoing.
Under Hong Kong law, money laundering offences carry a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.
Possession of a dangerous drug is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a HK$1 million fine.