Politico | Mainland Chinese woman jailed for five years in Hong Kong for her part in a US$137.8 million money-laundering scheme
- Liu Sujun, 34, allowed the money to be transferred through a bank account in the name of a company she owned in over 2,300 transactions in 2015 and 2016
- The case came to light when police investigated an international phone scam targeting a Czech company
A mainland Chinese woman was jailed for five years in Hong Kong on Tuesday over a HK$1 billion money-laundering scheme uncovered when police investigated an international phone scam.
Liu Sujun, 34, allowed US$136.8 million (HK$1.06 billion) to be transferred in and out of a bank account her brother asked her to open for a company under her name between September 2015 and September 2016, the Court of First Instance heard.
Part of the substantial sum came from €997,000 (HK$8.8 million) garnered from a phone scam that targeted a Czech company, whose complaint triggered the investigation.
Liu had claimed to have no idea of what her brother was up to, but sentencing judge Mr Patrick Li Hon-leung refused to accept her explanation on Tuesday.
“It really perplexed me,” he said, after hearing that Liu herself had been a businesswoman for more than a decade. “Her involvement could not have been trivial.”
The woman from Shenzhen was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of dealing in property known or believed to represent proceeds from an indictable offence.