Hong Kong police and various consulates in the city have stepped up efforts to educate migrant workers about money laundering and scam risks, following an uptick in cases among certain ethnic minority groups.

Kamy Lee Ka-wai, chief inspector of the force’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau, said police had ramped up collaboration with consulates and religious organisations to reach out to the city’s ethnic minority residents and workers since last year.

She said the main reason members of ethnic minorities fall victim to money laundering or scam traps was a lack of understanding of Hong Kong laws, rather than language barriers.

“Some of them will say that they didn’t know that one cannot rent, sell or lend their bank accounts to others in Hong Kong,” Lee said, referring to the tactic by syndicates to launder money through stooge accounts.

The chief inspector said a common misconception among stooge account holders was that they thought they had not committed a crime because they did not use their account for criminal activity or that they did not receive suspected criminal funds themselves.

Under Hong Kong law, lending, selling or renting one’s bank account for criminal use is illegal. Such account holders are liable for a maximum penalty of 14 years and a fine of HK$5 million (US$643,560) under a money laundering offence.