KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — A 23-year-old Singaporean man was one of eight individuals arrested for involvement in a transnational money laundering syndicate operating in Hong Kong.

According to The Straits Times, in a statement by the Singapore police on August 16, a joint operation with the Hong Kong police and Interpol dismantled the network, which laundered proceeds from technical support scams in Singapore and other scams in Hong Kong.

The transnational money laundering network was connected to a tech support scam that used pop-up messages as a tactic to phish for internet banking credentials.

It was reported that a pop-up would appear on the victims’ laptops or desktops, falsely claiming that their devices had been infected with malware and advising them to seek assistance from scammers posing as Microsoft or Apple tech support staff.

Victims were then deceived into logging into their internet banking accounts under the guise of helping to catch "hackers”, enabling scammers to capture their banking details and make unauthorised transactions. In some instances, the scammers even directed victims to create cryptocurrency accounts.

David Chew, director of the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), a financial crime investigation agency in the Singapore police, said in the statement that criminal proceeds generated by the scam were laundered through Hong Kong.

CNA reported that during raids conducted by Hong Kong police between August 9 and 12, one of the masterminds, three members, and three money mules were arrested. The individuals arrested were aged between 33 and 43.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) stated that the raids were the result of extensive information sharing and joint investigations by the police in Singapore and Hong Kong.

"Cash amounting to HK$300,000 (RM170,600) and more than 60 bank cards were recovered and seized as evidence,” they added.

Additionally, follow-up investigations led to the successful recovery of another HK$1.3 million in criminal proceeds.

The 23-year-old Singaporean man was arrested after it was discovered that he had surrendered his bank account to a criminal group linked to the dismantled money laundering syndicate. Investigations are still ongoing.

The Straits Times said that Chew noted the transnational tech-support scam syndicate targeted not only Singapore but also unsuspecting victims across multiple jurisdictions.