Tokyo and Hong Kong jointly report massive cash robbery cases, with 2 virtual currency exchange shop employees already detained

ChainCatcher News, between January 29 and 30, within less than 24 hours, Tokyo, Japan, traditionally known for good public order, and Hong Kong, China, experienced consecutive robberies targeting large amounts of Japanese yen cash. The involved amounts were as high as 420 million yen (approximately 19 million RMB) and 51 million yen (approximately 2.29 million RMB). About 6 hours after the incidents, police arrested 3 suspects at Hong Kong International Airport on charges of “robbery” as they attempted to leave the country. Meanwhile, at a virtual currency exchange shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, 2 clerks were detained—one a 28-year-old local man and the other a 29-year-old man from mainland China—who are suspected of assisting the robbers in handling part of the stolen money.

Initial intelligence analysis indicates that the related Japanese companies may have transported yen cash to Hong Kong to exchange for Hong Kong dollars, then purchased duty-free goods in Hong Kong to profit from the tax difference between the two regions.