Accounting Clerk Convicted of HK$31 Million Money Laundering After Fake National Security Investigation Call
Wong Pui-shan, 40, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of money laundering after authorising transfers at behest of impostor claiming to be from Beijing's national security office
Quick Look
- A 40-year-old accounting clerk in Hong Kong has been convicted of 10 counts of money laundering after admitting to helping a fraud syndicate withdraw HK$31 million (US$4 million) from Prior Securities in 2021.
- Wong Pui-shan believed she was being investigated by Beijing's national security office and complied with instructions from an impostor who contacted her via WhatsApp, stealing banking security devices to authenticate illicit transfers.
AI-generated summary
An accounting clerk has admitted to helping a fraud syndicate withdraw HK$31 million (US$4 million) from a Hong Kong brokerage five years ago after being told she was under investigation by Beijing's national security arm in the city.
The High Court on Tuesday convicted Wong Pui-shan of 10 counts of money laundering after she confessed to authorising 10 illicit transactions at the behest of an impostor she believed was from the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong.
The 40-year-old defendant, who pleaded guilty at an earlier session, said a man purporting to be an investigator from the office called her in August 2021, telling her she was suspected of being involved in a conspiracy to defraud. She then maintained regular contact with the unknown caller through WhatsApp and divulged sensitive personal and financial data of her employer, Prior Securities, to assist in the "investigation".
At the caller's request, Wong stole two banking security devices belonging to company directors on November 7 that year and used them to authenticate cash transfers from two corporate accounts the following day.
A total of HK$31 million was withdrawn between 9.34am and 10.59am on November 8 and transferred to nine people and a company, the court heard. Three further transactions worth a total of HK$14 million were blocked after a company executive asked the Bank of Communications to freeze the two accounts.
