Criminal Law — Magistrate Acquits Defendant of Money Laundering over a Virtual Bank Account

On 28th August 2026, Randy Shek, instructed for the defence in HKSAR v Ho Kwai Sang, KCCC 3290/2025, secured an acquittal on a charge of Dealing with Property Known or Believed to Represent the Proceeds of an Indictable Offence (“Money Laundering”), contrary to section 25 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 455. 

The prosecution alleged that the defendant opened and operated a virtual bank account through a mobile app; that proceeds of fraud were paid into the account and withdrawn almost immediately; and that, as the sole account holder, the defendant was the person who dealt with the tainted funds. 

The defence case was that the defendant had asked an acquaintance to help him open an Alipay account and his biometrics were used in his presence for that purpose. Without his knowledge, the acquaintance instead opened a virtual bank account in his name and later used it to deal with the proceeds of fraud. 

While the court was disinclined to accept the defendant’s explanation case on how the account came to be opened, because the defendant was the only person named on the charge, the prosecution was required to prove that it was the defendant who committed the offending act. 

In cross-examination of a bank officer called by the prosecution, defence counsel uncovered and then obtained access to detailed transaction records relating to the account beyond those provided in prosecution disclosure. Those records showed that the account was being operated from Macau at a time when the defendant was physically in Hong Kong. The records left open the real possibility that someone else other than the defendant was operating the account and dealing with the tainted funds therein. 

Accepting the Defence’s legal submissions based on the Court of Appeal’s judgment in HKSAR v Xie Zhijian [2025] HKCA 911, the magistrate held that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had dealt with criminal proceeds and acquitted the defendant. 

 

Randy Shek

“Randy is a highly experienced counsel in the criminal law practice. He offers pragmatic and robust advice to clients and achieves favourable outcomes for them.”
— Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2023-2026: Regulatory, Investigations and Crime: Leading Juniors 

Randy’s main areas of practice include criminal law, human rights and civil liberties, and public law.  He also accepts instructions for civil cases involving injunctions, family law, and land law.

While he regularly receives instructions to prosecute on behalf of the Department of Justice, Randy is mainly a criminal defence counsel. Randy has a long and established track record for defending cases arising from high profile public order events and cases involving human rights and civil liberties dimensions. He is also particularly experienced in handling cases involving young offenders.

Moreover, he is also experienced in handling conventional crime, white collar crime, SFC investigations, and serious crime, including sexual offences and murder.  He has conducted trials and appeals in all court levels, both as led junior and on his own right.

Find out more from Randy’s profile.

This article was first published on 4 September 2026.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and seeks to set out the general principles of the law. Detailed advice should therefore be sought from a legal professional relating to the individual merits and facts of a particular case. The photographs which appear in this article are included for decorative purposes only and should not be taken as a depiction of any matter to which the case is related. The views and opinions expressed in this article/material are solely those of the members authoring it and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Denis Chang’s Chambers, or of any other member or members of Denis Chang’s Chambers.