Son of ex-Chinese official jailed for 6 years, 9 months for deception, laundering

Xiao Rui, the 37-year-old son of a former mainland Chinese official, has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison by the Hong Kong District Court. The court found him guilty on four counts of money laundering and one count of using false instruments for offenses committed between 2013 and 2023. Xiao used deceptive means, including bogus bank statements, to secure residency in Hong Kong through a cash-for-residency scheme, deceiving the Immigration Department into granting him a visa. He also laundered over HK$64 million (US$8.2 million), which included a bribe his father allegedly sought a decade ago. Deputy Judge Bernard Chung Wai-keung stated that Xiao's actions undermined the effectiveness of the residency scheme.