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| The Filipina appeared in Tuen Mun court to face the money laundering charge |
A Filipina domestic helper appeared in Tuen Mun court yesterday, charged with handling illicit money totaling nearly $2.3 million that passed through her MOX bank account within only 10 days in March this year.
No plea was
taken from Maureen Joy L. Romero, 41, and she was remanded in jail until her
next court appearance on Jul 24.
According to the
charge, Romero dealt with the sum of $2,296,076 which passed through her account with MOX Bank Limited, numbered
74966154325, between Mar 14 and 24 this year, despite “knowing or having
reasonable ground to believe,” that the property “in whole or in part, directly
or indirectly represented the proceeds of an indictable offense.”
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
Meanwhile a
Filipino resident again appeared in District Court on a charge of laundering
the equivalent of HK$5.5 million in his Bank of China account betweem Aug 5 and
Oct 21, 2020.
Jose Rizaldo Ledesma,
who is said to be also known by the names Jose Rizaldo Raymundo Ledesma and
Tose Rizhido R. Leoesma, 57, is accused of having laundered a total sum of
5,500 Euros and USD706,468.21 in his Bank of China account between Aug 5, 2020
and Oct 21, 2020.
He is charged
alongside Wong Chiu-sang, 51, who faces a separate count of laundering the
equivalent of more than HK$7.30 million through his Standard Chartered Bank
account.
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| TAWAG NA! |
Wong’s account
is said to have been used to launder a total of HK$1,705,319.28 and
USD719,851.25 between Aug 13, 2020 and October 31, 2020.
The case against
Ledesma has been adjourned to July 7 for mention, and his bail of $400 was
extended until then.
Wong, who is out
on $4,000 bail, will appear in court again on Mar 31, 2025 for plea.
Money laundering
is a crime under sections 25(1) and 25 (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes
Ordinance , Cap. 455.
The maximum penalty
for anyone found to have committed the offence is 14 years’ imprisonment and $5
million in fines.
In a long line
of cases that have been dealt with in Hong Kong’s criminal courts, the offence
has always been punished with imprisonment, even if the accused has admitted the
charge.
In one of the latest
cases, a Filipina DH was sentenced to two months in jail after she pleaded
guilty to laundering just over $20,000 through her bank account.
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