Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is partnering with the University of Hong Kong to develop a digital tool to track cryptocurrency transactions in suspected money laundering schemes.
On Thursday, Assistant Commissioner Mario Wong Ho-yin said customs officials would expand collaboration with academics, regional finance professionals and law enforcement to counteract increasingly complex and borderless financial crimes.
“These money laundering threats are characterized by a transnational and borderless nature, and no single agency can tackle this problem alone,” Wong said during a media briefing, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Per the report, the official declined to reveal further details about the tool’s operation, citing the confidential nature of the department’s work.
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HK sees rise in crypto-related money laundering cases
Between 2021 and May 2025, Hong Kong customs recorded 39 major money laundering cases, seven of which involved cryptocurrencies. Most were trade-based laundering operations disguising illicit funds as routine transactions.
One case involved over 1,000 suspicious transactions worth 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (around $229 million), spanning five companies and 18 local bank accounts. Three individuals were arrested, with two accused of moving 760 million Hong Kong dollars through a crypto platform.
The department and university also hosted a three-day workshop this week, bringing together law enforcement and consulate staff from eight jurisdictions, including China, India, Iran, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore, to strengthen cross-border cooperation in combating digital financial crimes.
Related: Jack Ma’s Ant International eyes stablecoin licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong
Crypto exec charged with laundering $530 million
Iurii Gugnin, founder of crypto payments platform Evita Pay, was recently arrested in New York and indicted on 22 federal charges for allegedly laundering over $530 million into the US from sanctioned Russian banks.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Gugnin used stablecoin transactions to help Russian clients tied to blacklisted institutions, including Sberbank and VTB, access restricted American technologies.
The DOJ claims the scheme ran from June 2023 to January 2025, with Gugnin accused of wire fraud, money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. If convicted, he faces the possibility of life imprisonment.
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