Ex-UBS Banker in Hong Kong Jailed 10 Years for Laundering $17.2 Million
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UBS Group AG logo on a sign at the bank’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 30, 2025. Photo: Bloomberg
A former UBS associate director in Hong Kong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering more than HK$134 million ($17.2 million) he siphoned from Chinese mainland clients, spending it on luxury cars and overseas properties, regulators said.
The Securities and Futures Commission said Sun Jianrong, 37, was convicted of money laundering by a Hong Kong court in June and permanently banned from the financial industry.
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- Sun Jianrong, former UBS associate director in Hong Kong, was sentenced to 10 years for laundering over HK$134 million from Chinese mainland clients.
- He diverted clients' funds using falsified documents, spent proceeds on luxury cars and properties, and was banned from the financial industry.
- Sun received an extra six months for contempt of court, and his main victim was later convicted in Nanjing for running a prostitution syndicate.
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Who’s Who
- UBS
- UBS is mentioned as the former employer of Sun Jianrong, an associate director in Hong Kong. Sun was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering over HK$134 million from Chinese mainland clients between 2016 and 2018. His victims, a couple surnamed Yu, had a joint UBS account. The deception was uncovered when a new adviser took over Yu's account after Sun resigned from UBS in mid-2018. UBS staff also alerted Hong Kong police, leading to Sun's arrest.
- HSBC
- HSBC was mentioned in the context of a money laundering scheme. Sun Jianrong, who siphoned funds from clients, provided falsified HSBC transfer slips to his victims. He later claimed the funds were delayed by HSBC when confronted by a victim.
- Empire Seals Ltd
- Empire Seals Ltd was a company that Sun Jianrong falsely claimed held the laundered funds he siphoned from his clients. Investigators found no such account existed, indicating it was part of his deception to mislead his victims about the location of their money.
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What Happened When
- 2013：
- The Yu couple moved from Nanjing to Hong Kong and opened a joint UBS account.
- Between 2014 and 2018：
- Sun Jianrong declared only HK$4.06 million in income on his tax filings.
- Between 2016 and 2018：
- Sun Jianrong told clients, including the Yu couple, that he could help transfer funds from mainland China to Hong Kong and diverted the money to accounts he controlled.
- Late 2016：
- Yu’s staff began transferring 132 million yuan to 29 mainland accounts specified by Sun at his direction.
- Mid-2018：
- Sun resigned from UBS and subsequently discrepancies of about HK$124.9 million in Yu’s account were discovered after a new adviser took over.
- Mid-2018：
- Yu’s wife confronted Sun at his home. Sun accompanied her to HSBC and UBS's Kowloon branch, where staff alerted Hong Kong police and Sun was arrested on the spot.
- 2018：
- Sun breached an asset-freezing order by transferring interests in U.K. properties.
- 2020：
- Yu was convicted in Nanjing for running a prostitution syndicate.
- June 2024：
- Sun Jianrong was convicted of money laundering and permanently banned from the financial industry by a Hong Kong court.
- June 21, 2024：
- The court sentenced Sun Jianrong to 10 years in prison for money laundering and an additional six months for contempt of court.
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