Hong Kong police have cracked a virtual currency "gold granule money laundering" fraud case involving approximately HK$7 million

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Hong Kong police have disclosed the investigation of a cross-border telephone fraud case, where a criminal syndicate impersonated mainland Chinese officials, specifically targeting mainland Chinese students studying in the UK and Australia. The fraudsters falsely claimed that the victims were involved in criminal cases such as money laundering, demanding they "cooperate with the investigation" and travel to Hong Kong to purchase gold granules multiple times from jewelry stores as "bail money", each time for amounts not exceeding HK$120,000 to circumvent the shop's registration system. Subsequently, syndicate members would collect and transport the stolen goods. The obtained gold granules were then melted into gold bars or exchanged for cash and virtual currency. The police have received a total of 7 related cases, involving approximately HK$7 million, with the highest single loss reaching HK$1.6 million. (Hong Kong Wen Wei Po)