Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is partnering with the University of Hong Kong to develop a digital tool to track cryptocurrency transactions

On Thursday, Assistant Commissioner Mario Wong Ho-yin said customs officials would expand collaboration with academics, regional finance professionals and law enforcement to counteract increasingly complex and borderless financial crimes.

Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is partnering with the University of Hong Kong to develop a digital tool for tracking cryptocurrency transactions in suspected money laundering schemes, reports the South China Morning Post.

On Thursday, Assistant Commissioner Mario Wong Ho-yin said customs officials would be expanding collaboration with academics, regional finance professionals and law enforcement to counteract increasingly complex and borderless financial crimes.

“These money laundering threats are characterized by a transnational and borderless nature, and no single agency can tackle this problem alone,” Wong said during a media briefing, according to the report.

The report adds that the official declined to elaborate on the tool’s operation, citing the confidential nature of the department’s work.

Between 2021 and May 2025, Hong Kong customs recorded 39 major money laundering cases, seven of which involved cryptocurrencies. Most were trade-based laundering operations disguising illicit funds as routine transactions.

One case involved more than 1,000 suspicious transactions valued at 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (around $229 million), engaging five companies and 18 local bank accounts. Three individuals were arrested, two of whom were accused of transferring 760 million Hong Kong dollars through a crypto platform.

The department and university also hosted a three-day workshop this week, engaging law enforcement and consulate staff from eight governments—including China, India, Iran, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore—to boost cross-border cooperation in combating new digital financial crimes.

Crypto exec charged with laundering $530 million

Iurii Gugnin, founder of crypto payments platform Evita Pay, was recently arrested in New York and indicted on 22 federal charges for allegedly laundering over $530 million into the U.S. from sanctioned Russian institutions, reports the New York Times.

The report adds that Gugnin allegedly used stablecoin transactions to help Russian clients, who were tied to blacklisted entities like Sberbank and VTB, gain access to restricted American technologies.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the scheme unfolded from June 2023 to January 2025, with Gugnin accused of offenses including wire fraud, money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Upon conviction, Gugnin could face a potential sentence of life imprisonment.