Police have arrested six core members of a criminal syndicate accused of using a health supplement business as a front to trick at least 41 people, mainly retirees and elderly residents, into opening virtual bank dummy accounts used to launder nearly HK$10 million.
Tseung Kwan O Assistant District Commander (Crime) Hau Lai-man said on Tuesday that the syndicate operated a health supplement store in Cheung Sha Wan, where staff targeted elderly shoppers by offering exclusive product discounts or cash rewards to lure them into registering as members.
Once victims showed interest, they were taken to an industrial building unit in Kwun Tong under the pretext of completing their membership activation.
Syndicate members allegedly tricked victims into handing over their Hong Kong identity cards and proof of address, and asked them to take photos, which the victims believed were needed for a routine membership application.
In fact, police said the suspects used smartphones to pass virtual banks’ biometric facial recognition checks and opened dummy accounts on the spot.
The syndicate also promised existing victims an additional referral reward of about HK$2,000 for every friend or relative they successfully introduced.
The case came to light in April when an elderly victim discussed the discount program with family members, who became suspicious that the victim’s personal data may have been misused and reported the case to police.
After an investigation, police arrested six key members, comprising four men and two women aged between 43 and 71, in a series of raids at various locations on Monday.
Hau said the syndicate had operated for about six months. The suspects allegedly had different roles, including frontline health product sales, processing account-opening applications, and renting and managing the operational venues.
Hau added that as virtual banks have recently strengthened security by requiring regular facial recognition updates for large-value transactions, the syndicate would routinely trick victims into meeting again to re-verify their face biometrics.
He said police are tracing the flow of the illicit funds and investigating possible upstream crimes, adding that further arrests have not been ruled out.