Hong Kong police arrested a man accused of stealing $191,085 from a cryptocurrency trader in what turned out to be a sham transaction. No funds had been recovered at the time of the suspect’s arrest, and an investigation is underway to determine whether the man had accomplices.
No Funds Recovered
Hong Kong police recently arrested a 24-year-old fraudster accused of disappearing $191,085 (HK$1.5 million) belonging to a crypto trader. The scammer faces a ten-year prison sentence if convicted, the report said.
According to a report in the South China Morning Post which details the suspect’s plan, when law enforcement officers finally apprehended the 24-year-old fraudster on May 10, no funds were found. The only items recovered were a cell phone, necklaces, and clothing the suspect was wearing at the time of the alleged crime.
Explaining how the suspect managed to disappear with the funds of an unnamed cryptocurrency trader, Hong Kong Police Inspector Tong Sin-tung of the Yau Tsim Criminal Investigation Division said:
According to the instructions, the victim transferred HK$1.5 million in digital money to the specified e-wallet. [The buyer] stated that he needed to go to the staff room to get the money and left [the meeting room].
Further arrests are possible
The Hong Kong Police believe that the suspect may have used the rear exit of the store in Tsim Sha Tsu to escape. However, the suspect reportedly left a cryptocurrency trader and her colleagues locked inside the store before disappearing. Realizing they had been duped, the cryptocurrency trader called the police.
Meanwhile, the report says detectives have yet to find out if the suspect set up the office on purpose to defraud the crypto trader. Police are also looking into the possibility that the suspect may have accomplices, Tong added. The inspector added that police have not ruled out the possibility of more arrests.
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