A Filipino whose Hong Kong ID card was used by another man to open two bank accounts that were later used for money laundering, is now being sought under a warrant of arrest issued by the Shatin Court.
Ricardo de Austria, 53 years old, did not show up in court
when his case was called last Feb. 6, prompting Acting Principal Magistrate Amy
Chan to issue an arrest warrant, hold his bail in reserve, and order that he
not be granted bail if arrested.
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| Buksan ang mga tip |
De Austria is charged along with Leila Fonte, 55 and also a
Filipino, who is accused of arranging to have Mohammed Shah use his HKID in
opening accounts with Hang Seng Bank and CMB Wing Lung Bank.
Because these bank accounts in his name received deposits of
a total of $414,781.33, which were quickly withdrawn from Aug. 6, 2020 to Sept.
20, 2020, he and Fonte were jointly charged with dealing with proceeds of a
crime – a violation of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
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| How? Pindutin ito! |
Aside from this, Fonte also faces seven other charges.
She is charged with conspiracy to use an identity card
relating to another person, a result of having Shah use de Austria’s HKID in
opening the two bank accounts in July 2020, which is against the Crimes
Ordinance and the Registration of Persons Ordinance.
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| TAWAG NA! |
Fonte is charged with lending her own HKID to a certain
Merlyn Ibon on three occasions: on an unknown date in 2016, in September 2021
and in January 2022.
She also charged, along with Ibon, of conspiracy to handle proceeds
of a crime, because an HSBC account opened in her name by Ibon had deposits and
withdrawals that totalled $596,611.40.
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| PINDUTIN ITO |
Her seventh charge is conspiracy to defraud, for making Ibon
obtain a loan of $10,103 from United Asia Finance Ltd. in June-August 2018
using the borrowed HKID.
Finally, Fonte was accused of lying to an Immigration
officer on Feb. 11, 2020, when she told him that she was working at a restaurant
named Hutong.
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| PADALA NA! |
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