Japan thanks ICAC for help in card fraud smash
2000-9-4
A delegation from Japan's police authorities today visited the Independent Commission Against Corruption and thanked the Commission for providing assistance which led to the smashing of a false credit card syndicate based in Tokyo.
The delegation, headed by the Deputy Director of Investigative Planning Division of the National Police Agency (NPA) Makoto Ota, comprised NPA Police Inspectors Seiichi Ide and Takeshi Senba, and Police Inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Norihiko Sudo.
They were accompanied by Consuls of the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong Yoshiki Kobayashi and Takayuki Chiba.
ICAC's Acting Director of Investigations (Private Sector) Gilbert Chan Tak-shing, after receiving a citation from Mr Ota, noted that mutual assistance between law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions had become increasingly important, due to the globalization of corruption and related crime.
The ICAC had earlier provided intelligence to the Japanese authorities on the activities of a counterfeit credit card syndicate based in Tokyo with criminals in Hong Kong as data suppliers.
As a result of information received from the ICAC, TMPD on November 11 last year raided a false card factory in Tokyo and arrested five people, including a Hong Kong citizen believed to be the syndicate head.
During the raid, TMPD seized more than 1,000 sets of genuine credit card data, over 300 base cards (blank plastic cards used for making false credit cards), computer equipment and other tools for manufacturing false cards.
The Hong Kong man, Chan Man-fat, was subsequently sentenced by the Tokyo District Court to two years and eight months in jail for credit card fraud offences.
Chan is the brother-in-law of two brothers who were subjects of an ICAC investigation into a graft facilitated credit card fraud case in Hong Kong.
ICAC inquiries found that the two brothers had been collecting genuine credit card data from a local restaurant for Chan to manufacture false credit cards which were subsequently uttered at retail outlets in Japan.
Cheung Koon-cheong, while working at a restaurant at the Peak, used a skimmer provided by his elder brother Koon-tung to collect card data from customers, and was offered $1,000 for each set of data captured.
Card issuing banks in Hong Kong had reported losses of over $185,500 due to the criminal use of these counterfeit cards overseas.
Chang Koon-cheong and Koon-tung were subsequently charged in Hong Kong with conspiracy to possess a skimmer for making counterfeit credit cards. They were respectively jailed for 14 months and 16 months.
The delegation, headed by the Deputy Director of Investigative Planning Division of the National Police Agency (NPA) Makoto Ota, comprised NPA Police Inspectors Seiichi Ide and Takeshi Senba, and Police Inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Norihiko Sudo.
They were accompanied by Consuls of the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong Yoshiki Kobayashi and Takayuki Chiba.
ICAC's Acting Director of Investigations (Private Sector) Gilbert Chan Tak-shing, after receiving a citation from Mr Ota, noted that mutual assistance between law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions had become increasingly important, due to the globalization of corruption and related crime.
The ICAC had earlier provided intelligence to the Japanese authorities on the activities of a counterfeit credit card syndicate based in Tokyo with criminals in Hong Kong as data suppliers.
As a result of information received from the ICAC, TMPD on November 11 last year raided a false card factory in Tokyo and arrested five people, including a Hong Kong citizen believed to be the syndicate head.
During the raid, TMPD seized more than 1,000 sets of genuine credit card data, over 300 base cards (blank plastic cards used for making false credit cards), computer equipment and other tools for manufacturing false cards.
The Hong Kong man, Chan Man-fat, was subsequently sentenced by the Tokyo District Court to two years and eight months in jail for credit card fraud offences.
Chan is the brother-in-law of two brothers who were subjects of an ICAC investigation into a graft facilitated credit card fraud case in Hong Kong.
ICAC inquiries found that the two brothers had been collecting genuine credit card data from a local restaurant for Chan to manufacture false credit cards which were subsequently uttered at retail outlets in Japan.
Cheung Koon-cheong, while working at a restaurant at the Peak, used a skimmer provided by his elder brother Koon-tung to collect card data from customers, and was offered $1,000 for each set of data captured.
Card issuing banks in Hong Kong had reported losses of over $185,500 due to the criminal use of these counterfeit cards overseas.
Chang Koon-cheong and Koon-tung were subsequently charged in Hong Kong with conspiracy to possess a skimmer for making counterfeit credit cards. They were respectively jailed for 14 months and 16 months.