Hong Kong police have arrested a man accused of stealing $191,085 from a cryptocurrency trader in what turned out to be a bogus transaction. No funds had been recovered at the time the suspect was arrested and an investigation is ongoing to determine if this is the case man had accomplices.
No funds recovered
Hong Kong police recently arrested a 24-year-old scammer accused of disappearing with $191,085 (HKD1.5 million) from a crypto trader. The scammer now faces a possible 10-year prison sentence if convicted, a report said.
According to a South China Morning Post report detailing the suspect’s plan, no funds were recovered when law enforcement officers finally arrested the 24-year-old on May 10 for allegedly committing a crime.
Hong Kong Police Inspector Tong Sin-tung from the Yau Tsim Criminal Investigation Department explained how the suspect managed to disappear with the unnamed cryptocurrency trader’s funds:
As instructed, the victim transferred HK$1.5 million in digital money to a dedicated e-wallet. That [buyer] claimed he had to go to the staff lounge to get money and left [the meeting room].
More arrests possible
Hong Kong Police believe the suspect may have used a back exit of a shop in Tsim Sha Tsu to escape. However, before the suspect disappeared, he reportedly left the cryptocurrency trader and her colleagues locked inside the store. After realizing they had been duped, the cryptocurrency trader called the police.
Meanwhile, the report states that detectives have yet to determine whether the suspect set up the office specifically to scam the crypto trader. Police are also considering the possibility that the suspect may have accomplices, Tong added. The inspector added that the police are not ruling out the possibility of further arrests.
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