Guide
If you lent your bank account to someone, sold it, or opened one at another person's request, and that account was later used by fraudsters, you may now be facing an accusation of money laundering. This guide explains, calmly and in plain terms, what that accusation means and what to do now.
Most people in this position never handled anyone else's money as "money laundering" in their own mind. They helped a friend, answered a job advertisement, or did a favour for someone who asked nicely. What matters now is not how the account came to be used, but what you say and do in the days immediately ahead.
In Hong Kong, this kind of case is usually put as dealing with property, most often money passing through a bank account, that you knew or believed, or had reasonable grounds to believe, represented the proceeds of an indictable offence, commonly a fraud. The accusation is not simply that a fraud happened and your account was used. It is that you dealt with the money in that account in a particular state of mind, or that you ought to have realised what it was.
That distinction matters enormously. It is why two people whose accounts were used in the same scam can be in very different positions, depending on what each of them knew, was told, or suspected.
Saying you did not know what the account would be used for is not, by itself, an answer to the accusation. But it is not irrelevant either. What you actually knew, and what you believed or suspected at the time, is close to the centre of the case against you. So is whether you deliberately avoided asking questions you would normally have asked, about why a stranger wanted your account, or why you were being paid to open one.
This is exactly the kind of question that should be worked through with a lawyer, carefully and in private, rather than guessed at or explained away casually to the police before anyone has looked at the fuller picture with you.
People in this situation often want to explain themselves immediately, in the hope that a quick, honest-sounding account will end things there. It is an understandable instinct, and it is usually the wrong moment to act on it. A police interview is not an informal conversation. What you say is recorded and will be used as evidence. An explanation to “clear things up” without legal advice, under pressure, before you have had time to think it through properly, can end up doing more harm than good, even when every word of it is true.
You have the right to remain silent, and to take legal advice before you decide whether to answer questions at all. Asking to speak to a solicitor first is not an admission of anything. It is your right, as well as the ordinary, sensible step to take. It is frankly the single most useful thing you can do in the first hours after an arrest.
Cases like this are often decided, in practice, by detail: how you came to be asked for your account, who approached you and how, what you were told it was for, and what, if anything, you received in return. Messages, chat logs, job advertisements, screenshots and recordings of what was said to you can all matter, sometimes a great deal, and they are far more useful gathered and preserved early than reconstructed from memory later.
The right approach is to keep hold of anything of this kind, and to tell your lawyer everything, fully and honestly, once you have one. It is not to prepare an account in advance of getting advice. A lawyer needs the true, complete picture to help you, including the parts that feel awkward or unflattering.
Many people caught up in this kind of case were themselves targeted, by someone they trusted, by a job advertisement that misrepresented what the role involved, or by a stranger who offered easy money for what sounded like a small favour. Where that is what happened to you, it is relevant both to whether the accusation against you is made out at all, and, separately, to how a court assesses your role and your culpability if a case proceeds. It does not resolve a case on its own, and no one can promise you a particular result, but it is a genuinely important part of the picture and should be raised with your lawyer as early as possible.
If someone you care about has been arrested in connection with a bank account, the most useful things you can do are practical. Find out, and write down, which police station they are being held at and any reference number you are given. You can contact a solicitor on their behalf, and a solicitor can then seek information from the police and attend if needed. Bring or arrange any medication the person needs.
Try not to discuss the facts of the case over the phone, and do not encourage the person to explain themselves to the police before they have had advice, however well meant that encouragement is. Getting a lawyer involved quickly is what helps most.
Bail means being released while a case continues, usually subject to conditions. After questioning, the police may release someone on bail to return on a later date, sometimes with conditions such as reporting to a police station or surrendering a travel document. If a matter reaches court, it is the court that decides whether bail is granted, and on what terms, and a court can refuse it in some cases for various reasons, including but not limited to the strength of evidence, risk of absconding and lack of local ties. Bail conditions can often be discussed, and where appropriate, challenged or varied, and this is an area where early legal help is genuinely useful.
We defend people accused of money laundering in exactly this kind of case, including people who were themselves exploited, misled or recruited by someone else and who never set out to break the law. We can attend at the police station or advise by phone at any stage, from the first interview through to any later court hearing, and we work in six languages, English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, so that language is never a reason someone goes without proper advice. If this is your first contact with the police, our guide to being arrested in Hong Kong covers the first hours in more detail. How we charge for this work is set out on How we price, and if you are worried about affording us, tell us.
Not necessarily. The accusation depends on what you knew or believed, or had reasonable grounds to believe, about the money passing through the account, not simply on the fact that it was used. This is a question worth working through carefully with a lawyer.
Take advice first. You have the right to remain silent and to speak to a solicitor before deciding whether to answer questions. An explanation given without advice, however honest, can be misunderstood or used in ways you did not intend.
Yes. Being deceived or recruited by someone else can be relevant both to whether the accusation is made out and, separately, to how the court views your role if a case proceeds. It is not a guarantee of any particular outcome, but it should be raised with your lawyer early.
Messages, job advertisements, chat logs and anything showing how you were approached and what you were told. Keep these safe and give your lawyer the full, honest picture, including anything that feels awkward.
Bail may be granted by the police after questioning, or by a court at a hearing, usually with conditions. It is commonly available but not guaranteed, and conditions can sometimes be discussed or varied with legal help.
Written by Clara Chok, associate.
This page is general information, not legal advice on any specific situation. For advice on your circumstances, contact us.
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