12 Photos
Senior Superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) Kung Hing-fun led a four-member delegation to the Maldives from May 18 to 20 to take part in the Operation Conclusion Meeting of the FRONTIER+ cross-border anti-scam joint operation, and visited the Maldives Police Service, toured their Hulhumalé Police Station, Criminal Investigation Command and Anti-Scam Centre, had an understanding of the local policing and law enforcement challenges, as well as exchanged views on the operation of anti-scam centre, the handling of scam cases, and the interception of fraudulent funds.
The Force and nine of the FRONTIER+ members, including the Anti-Scam Centres of Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, conducted a large-scale joint operation between March 10 and May 7, deploying over 3 200 law enforcement officers, dismantling multiple
cross-border scam syndicates, with more than 3 000 individuals arrested involving over 138 000 scam cases, and the amount involved in the cases exceeds HK$5.89 billion. Nearly 102 000 bank accounts were frozen, and approximately HK$1.26 billion in fraudulent funds were intercepted during the operation. The case with the largest loss amount involved a messaging application account takeover scam, in which a Singaporean company was defrauded of US$36 million (approximately HK$280 million). Following joint investigations and fund-tracing by the Force and the Singapore Police Force, US$20 million was intercepted.
Representatives of the members discussed the operational outcomes and exchanged best practices in combatting scams during the Operation Conclusion Meeting on May 18. This was followed by a joint press conference by the representatives on May 20. Speaking at the press conference, Kung Hing-fun mentioned the growing use of virtual asset platforms by scam syndicates for money laundering, and the need for continued intelligence exchange and collaborative mechanisms among the places to strengthen capacity for tackling related crimes.
The Anti-Deception Coordination Centre under the CCB has collaborated with the anti-scam centres from several countries and regions, and jointly established the Cross-border Anti-Scam Collaboration Platform FRONTIER+ since October 2024 with the aim of joint operations to disrupt scams and related cyber and money-laundering crimes. The Force and
FRONTIER+ members will continue to assist other jurisdictions to set up Anti-Scam Centres and invite more countries and regions to join the platform in order to expand the network and enhance enforcement efficiency.
