Tokyo Hong Kong Yen Heist Surges, Cryptocurrency Exchange Shop Staff Arrested for Alleged Embezzlement

BlockBeats News, February 1st, according to Caixin, from January 29th to 30th, in less than 24 hours, robbery cases targeting large amounts of Japanese Yen cash occurred successively in the traditionally safe cities of Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong, China, with the involved amounts reaching as high as 420 million Yen (approximately RMB 19 million) and 51 million Yen (approximately RMB 2.29 million), respectively.

Approximately 6 hours after the incidents, the police arrested 3 criminal suspects attempting to leave the country at the Hong Kong International Airport on charges of "robbery," and at a virtual currency exchange shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, they also arrested 2 store employees, a 28-year-old local man, and a 29-year-old Chinese mainland man, who are suspected of assisting the robbers in handling part of the stolen money. Preliminary intelligence analysis indicates that the related Japanese companies may have carried Yen cash to Hong Kong for exchange into Hong Kong dollars, then used the funds to purchase duty-free goods in Hong Kong to profit from the tax price difference between the two places.