Police Arrest 18 in Loan-Sharking, Money-Laundering Bust
Bastillepost · 4 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong police in the New Territories South region arrested 18 people after a three-day operation targeting an illegal debt-collection and loan-sharking syndicate tied to a finance company in Mong Kok. Investigators said the group allegedly offered loans at annual rates as high as 160%, or more than 500% after inflated “administration fees” were factored in, and used six mule accounts to process more than HK$70 million in suspected criminal proceeds over the past year.
Key Points
- The suspects, 13 men and five women aged 17 to 69, were arrested on allegations including unlicensed money lending, charging excessive interest, money laundering, criminal intimidation and criminal damage.
- The investigation began after an August criminal-damage report from Kwai Chung, where a residential flat was splashed with red paint over debt disputes involving the occupant.
- Police said one finance company first disbursed the full loan, then immediately reclaimed large “administration fees”, including one HK$20,000 loan that required HK$6,000 back, pushing the effective annual rate above 500%.
- During raids from October 12 to October 14, officers arrested the company’s person in charge and two staff, and seized about HK$100,000 in cash, two computers, electronic devices, loan documents, 20 mobile phones and two cash-counting machines.
- Police also arrested six registered users of phone numbers allegedly used for cold-call lending and six mule-account holders, while three more local suspects were held over intimidation calls and red-paint attacks in Sha Tin, Kwai Tsing and Lantau.
Why It Matters
The case shows how illegal lenders can target borrowers already shut out of banks and licensed finance companies, then move repayments through third-party accounts to obscure money flows. Police also warned that people who sell or rent out their identity documents, bank accounts or real-name registered phone numbers can face criminal liability if those details are used in illegal operations