Hong Kong Ex-Banker Jailed for Faking $1.6 Billion in Cryptocurrency Scheme

A former China Construction Bank (Asia) relationship manager has been sentenced to four years in prison for taking over $470,000 in Tether (USDT) to authenticate forged bank instruments.

Lam Chun-yin, 32, worked at a Causeway Bay retail branch and handled consumer banking duties. However, his role did not involve letters of credit, and the bank never authorized him to handle them.

The scheme involved Vesttoo Limited, an overseas fintech firm that facilitated insurance-related investment deals through its platform. Investors were required to post bank-issued standby letters of credit as a guarantee.

Lam conspired with a Vesttoo department head and associates between April and June 2022 to accept Tether. He authenticated multiple standby letters of credit that falsely claimed to come from China Construction Bank Corporation, as well as two collateral letters endorsed by Yu Po Holdings Limited.