Scams take toll as international policing seen as key

Police reported receiving over 270 reports of losses from the Fun Coffee investment scam, totaling more than HK$113 million. Victims' losses ranged from HK$3,000 to HK$9.63 million. The alleged Ponzi scheme's app went offline in mid-July, leaving investors unable to retrieve their deposited funds. Senior superintendent Kung Hing-fun of the Commercial Crime Bureau explained that the force has been collaborating with international law enforcement agencies to combat fraudulent activities, particularly those allegedly headquartered overseas.

While arrests were made in Hong Kong, joint operations were also conducted with Macao police, resulting in arrests in both locations. A total of eight individuals have been apprehended, including two in Macao. In a similar case involving the cryptocurrency trading platform JPEX, the force noted that more than 2,800 individuals have been victims, with losses exceeding HK$1.6 billion.

Since the JPEX case surfaced in 2023, 81 arrests have been made, with 29 individuals charged for offenses such as conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, perverting the course of justice, and fraudulently inducing others to invest in virtual assets. Kung emphasized that companies involved in scams often enlist celebrities or key opinion leaders (KOLs) to promote their projects, potentially exposing the celebrities to criminal liability.

In the JPEX case, Kung mentioned the use of a new offense for prosecuting KOLs who fraudulently and recklessly promoted crypto trading. In the first half of the year, police recorded a total of 20,613 scam cases, with losses amounting to HK$3.5 billion. Around 2,151 cases, or one-tenth of the total, were investment scams.