Caixin: Tokyo and Hong Kong Hit by Massive Cash Heists in Succession, Two Cryptocurrency Exchange Employees Arrested

Odaily News On January 29th and 30th, within less than 24 hours, Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong, China, both renowned for their good social order, were hit by successive robberies targeting large sums of Japanese yen cash. The amounts involved were as high as 420 million yen (approximately 19 million RMB) and 51 million yen (approximately 2.29 million RMB), respectively. About six hours after the incidents, Hong Kong police arrested three suspects attempting to leave the territory at Hong Kong International Airport on charges of "robbery." Simultaneously, police arrested two employees at a cryptocurrency exchange in the Tsim Sha Tsui district—a 28-year-old local man and a 29-year-old mainland Chinese man—on suspicion of assisting the robbers in handling part of the stolen funds. Preliminary intelligence analysis suggests the related Japanese company may have been transporting yen cash to Hong Kong to exchange for Hong Kong dollars, subsequently purchasing duty-free goods in Hong Kong to profit from the tax differential between the two locations. (Caixin)