The SUN HK : 2 more Filipinas linked to ATM scam held by police

By Vir B. Lumicao

All the ATM cards used in the money laundering scam were issued by HSBC

Police have arrested at least two more Filipina domestic workers who had allegedly lent their bank ATM cards to scammers who used the cards to launder money derived from illegal activities.

They include one who went to the police in February to voluntarily tell the story of how her ATM card was used in the scam after she gave it to a fellow Filipina helper named Gemmalyn.

The same woman reportedly asked the detained helper to collect the ATM cards of other Filipina DHs who responded to a Facebook ad about parttime jobs.

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The arrested Filipina told The SUN she was picked up from her employer’s house in Tin Hau on Apr 22, and turned over to the Kwun Tong Police Station for investigation. She said she was accused of deception.

The other helper was arrested by police in her employer’s home in Tai Po last month and held overnight, according to an FDH support group. But there has been no word from her since, and it’s not known if she is still with her employer.

Both Filipinas were released on bail after a police investigation. The arrests followed a report made to the government’s Anti-Money Laundering Coordination Centre by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp about suspicious transactions in their accounts.

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Previously, about a dozen other Filipina helpers were arrested in connection with the scam. Six have sought the Consulate’s help after their arrests. A few have managed to leave Hong Kong even while investigations are ongoing.

As in the previous arrests, the two were instructed to report back on designated dates once a month to the police units that picked them up.

“Buti na-recover ko ang [Messenger] account ko...nasa police ang CP ko. Napuntahan ako ng police nung Huwebes sa bahay ng bago kong amo, umalis kasi ako sa dati kong amo. Pinababa nila ako nung Friday,” said the helper who was nabbed last week.

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(It’s good I’ve recovered my [Messenger] account…the police are keeping my phone. The police fetched me from the house of my new employer, as I have already left my previous employer. The new employers asked me to leave last Friday.)

She told The SUN that she had moved in with her new employer only on Mar 3.

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Since her dismissal, she has been to the employment agency that placed her with her last employer, but it is now reluctant to again help her because of her police case.

Meantime, Gemmalyn has reportedly made herself scarce after several Filipina helpers were arrested by the police in the weeks before Christmas and after the New Year.

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The alleged conduit reportedly kept creating new Facebook accounts and assuming other names. All those accounts are now closed and she can no longer be contacted.