A Filipina who was charged with money laundering after an account was opened in her name with an online bank and used to deposit $1.1 million in crime money, was acquitted today at Eastern Court in a decision that differed from the way courts look at this kind of cases.
Daisy Eugenio, 53 years old, tearfully thanked Deputy
Magistrate Ho Tsz-chun after he read his decision clearing her of the charge of
dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable
offense, contrary to sections 25(1) and 25(3) of the Organized and Serious
Crimes Ordinance.
“I’m so happy and relieved,” she told The SUN later.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
Eugenio was charged with handling HK$1,125,995.38 of money raised from a fake investment scam,
through her account with MOX Bank Limited in 126 transactions over 11 days from
Jan. 7 to Jan. 17, 2024.
In previous court decisions, Filipinos who had HK$1 million or
more laundered through their bank accounts were jailed for at least one year.
In his decision, Magistrate Ho gave credence to her testimony
that she had no control of the bank account, the main argument of the
prosecution. The prosecution has failed to prove she operated the account, he concluded.
 |
| Eugenio after emerging from the court |
In the account’s customer profile, for example, her preferred
language was listed as traditional Chinese, which she did not speak or read.
“Anyone who opens an account will not use a language he does not use,” he
said.
Her occupation was listed as “courier” when she was a
domestic helper, and her income was supposed to be $300,000 yearly when she was earning $6,000
a month ($72,000 a year).
Crucially, her listed address, to which the ATM card and the
password were mailed separately after the application was approved by MOX Bank,
was not where she and her employer stayed.
Magistrate Ho thus gave credence to her claim that she did not
know she had a MOX Bank account until police arrested her at the Immigration
Department when she was extending her visa.
Eugenio had testified that the account was opened when a
Chinese man and a Filipino woman approached her and two friends in a Wanchai
park and offered a promo which gave a 20 percent discount on purchases of $300
or more at Giordano and Bossini.
They just needed to register their HKID, which they could
then use to get the discount in Giordano and Bossini outlets anywhere in Hong
Kong. After taking a picture of their HKID, the Chinese man took their
“selfies”, Eusebio testified.
Magistrate Ho believed her claim that she was not aware that
this opened an account in MOX Bank. He said this was understandable since she
is just a high school graduate and had only limited knowledge of technology.
She had only one bank account, which she used for remitting money to her
family.
Read earlier news story:
https://www.sunwebhk.com/2026/04/pinay-denies-role-in-11m-money.html
