Hong Kong customs seized HK$4.6 billion in dirty money in 2020, as launderers were forced to adapt to Covid-19

HONG KONG, Jan 4 (SCMP): Hong Kong customs officials seized HK$4.6 billion (US$593.3 million) in dirty money in 2020 – a four-year high – as transnational rackets turned to novel methods for smuggling cash into the city and handling criminal proceeds amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overall, the Customs and Excise Department last year arrested 38 people in connection with nine cases, twice as many as the 19 suspects netted for allegedly laundering HK$3.6 billion in 2019. Last year’s HK$4.6 billion haul was the biggest since 2016, when customs officials cracked down on a HK$5.9 billion money-laundering case in conjunction with their mainland counterparts.