Benson Tsoi SC, leading Shane Zhong, secured an acquittal in a money laundering case involving proceeds of a large-scale internet fraud in HKSAR v Li HF.
The Prosecution allegation involved two large sums of monies which were paid into the Defendant’s bank account in Hong Kong, which originated from an online gambling scam committed during the Covid period. One of the alleged victims paid more than HK$7m to the fraudsters (which was not challenged by the Defence in the case).
The Prosecution alleged that the Defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that the monies credited to her bank account represents proceeds of crime. In particular, the large sums the Defendant received were not commensurate to her declared income of merely a few thousand dollars a month.
The Defence case relied on the use of the underground currency exchange arrangement as explained by the CFA in HKSAR v Yan Suiling (2012) 15 HKCFAR 146 and that the defendant (through her family) paid RMB 1 million in mainland China into a designated account of the HKD fund provider, and the corresponding amount of HKD were deposited into her Hong Kong account by depositors unknown to her – the arrangement was made by an intermediary in Hong Kong.
A pivotal piece of defence evidence was the WeChat record between the defendant and the alleged agent who assisted in the underground transfer arrangement, evidencing the agreed exchange rate and the precise amount in “odd figures” to be exchanged from RMB 1 million into HKD on the relevant date. That amount matched exactly the amount credited to the defendant’s account on the same day. This evidence mitigates the fact that the defendant did not personally know the actual depositors.
After analyzing the evidence, the Court found that the Prosecution had failed to establish that the only reasonable inference was that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe the monies were tainted.
Accordingly, the Defendant was acquitted.
