Mysterious bags of cash trigger major Hong Kong protest arrests

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam speaking to the media in a weekly news briefing after local elections in Hong Kong. Police announced the arrests of four people connected with Spark Alliance for suspected money laundering, the first cases brought over financing the demonstrations after six months of protests in the Island. - Reuters

BEIJING: Glancing at bags of cash stuffed to the brim earlier this month, Gary Fan simply wanted someone to remove them from an office in Hong Kong used by his political party.

The former pro-democracy lawmaker had collected HK$2.7mil (US$345,000) during an anti-government protest the day before, and was waiting for someone to pick it up from a mysterious group known as Spark Alliance that helps bail protesters out of jail.