Four women arrested at HSBC headquarters over fake papers
AM730 · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Four women were arrested at HSBC’s headquarters building at 1 Queen’s Road Central on Friday morning after bank staff reported suspected forged documents linked to banking services sought at the branch. Police said the suspects were a 64-year-old local woman and three Filipino women aged between 51 and 85, and all were held on suspicion of using a false instrument. According to reports, an 85-year-old Filipino woman presented a document claiming US$93 million, or about HK$720 million to HK$730 million, had been deposited into an account and sought to move the funds to another HSBC account. After staff checked the paperwork and suspected it was forged, police were called at 11:39am and the case was assigned to the Central District crime squad’s Team 4 for follow-up.
Key Points
- Police received the report at 11:39am on Friday, 16 October, from HSBC’s headquarters in Central at 1 Queen’s Road Central.
- The four arrested were all women: one 64-year-old local woman and three Filipino women aged from 51 to 85.
- Sing Tao reported one suspect was a Chinese woman, while other reports identified her more specifically as a local woman.
- According to the reports, an 85-year-old Filipino woman showed a deposit document stating US$93 million had been placed into an account.
- Bank staff suspected the document was forged when the woman said she wanted the money transferred to another HSBC account.
Why It Matters
The case underlines the frontline role bank staff play in detecting suspected forged documents before large-value transactions can proceed. For Hong Kong readers, it also shows how quickly suspicious banking activity at a major financial institution can become a criminal investigation handled by district detectives.