香港警方逮捕了六名涉嫌与一个跨境犯罪集团有关的嫌疑人。该犯罪集团以沉香木和加密货币的投资机会为名实施诈骗，持续了九年，涉案金额高达1400万港元（约合178万美元）。
Hong Kong police have arrested six people allegedly tied to a nine-year scam run by a suspected cross-border criminal syndicate offering business opportunities in agarwood and cryptocurrency, with funds involved reaching HK$14 million (US$1.78 million).
商业罪案调查科警司朱明伦（Allan Chu Ming-lun）周四表示，警方于9月接到21名受害者的报案后展开调查。这些受害者多为老年人，称他们自2017年起便开始投资BBB集团（香港）提供的各类产品。
Superintendent Allan Chu Ming-lun of the commercial crime bureau said on Thursday that investigations began in September after the force received 21 reports from victims, mostly elderly people, saying they had been investing in various products offered by BBB Group (Hong Kong) as early as 2017.
朱明伦表示：“该公司会利用各种借口拖延投资者提款，以逃避还款责任。”
“The firm involved would use various excuses to delay investors’ cash withdrawals, in a bid to evade their responsibility of paying them back,” Chu said.
大多数受害者的年龄在52岁至82岁之间。个人投资金额从3万港元到190万港元不等，21名受害者的总投资额达到1400万港元。
Most of the victims were aged between 52 and 82. Individual investment amounts ranged from HK$30,000 to HK$1.9 million, with the total from the 21 victims reaching HK$14 million.
朱明伦指出，受害者曾向BBB集团投资。该公司声称在全球多个国家设有办事处，包括马来西亚、新加坡和纽约。
Chu said the victims had invested with BBB Group, which claimed to operate offices around the world, including in Malaysia, Singapore and New York.
周三，该公司已被列入证券及期货事务监察委员会的警示名单。另外两家被认为与沉香木投资计划有关联的公司——BBB集团（马来西亚）和BBB Oud Living（香港）也被列入名单。
The company was placed on the Securities and Futures Commission’s alert list on Wednesday. Other firms deemed linked to the agarwood investment plan, namely BBB Group (Malaysia) and BBB Oud Living (HK), were also listed.
警方于周三逮捕了两名男性和四名女性，年龄介于52岁至66岁之间。六名嫌疑人中，一名持有马来西亚护照的男性被确认为该骗局的幕后主使，其余五名嫌疑人均为香港居民。
Police arrested two men and four women aged between 52 and 66 on Wednesday. Among the six, one was a Malaysian passport holder who was identified as the mastermind of the scheme. The remaining five suspects are Hong Kong residents.
警方搜查了该公司位于观塘的办公场所，查获约54万港元现金、25台笔记本电脑和手机、投资合同以及多种疑似沉香木制品。
Officers searched the firm’s premises in Kwun Tong, seizing about HK$540,000 in cash, 25 laptops and mobile phones, investment contracts and various types of suspected agarwood goods.
BBB集团曾声称在马来西亚拥有多个大型沉香木种植园，并与当地其他公司合作生产及销售由这种香木制成的产品，例如精油和茶叶。
BBB Group had claimed to run multiple large agarwood plantations in Malaysia and worked with other companies in the country to produce and sell products made from the fragrant wood, such as essential oils and tea leaves.
“核心联盟成员带投资人到沉香种植园进行实地考察，以增强他们的信心，”朱警司说。
“Core syndicate members brought investors on field trips to the agarwood plantations to boost their confidence,” Chu said.
该公司在2017年至今年期间，向受害者提供了至少四种“投资”计划，警司称。该公司还 allegedly 组织了投资讲座、前往中国大陆的旅行以及为投资者及其朋友举办的晚宴。
The company branched out to offer at least four types of “investment” plans to victims between 2017 and this year, the superintendent said. The firm also allegedly organised investment talks, trips to mainland China and galas for investors and their friends.
第一项投资计划于2020年推出，公司告诉投资人，他们通过购买价值1万港元的一棵沉香树，每月可获得300港元的回报，相当于三年内年化收益率达36%。警方称，投资人还被告知可以全额收回本金投资。
The first investment plan was rolled out in 2020, with the firm telling investors they could make HK$300 per month by making a HK$10,000 purchase of an agarwood tree, which would amount to an annual return of 36 per cent over three years. Investors were told they could get back the principal investment in full as well, according to police.
“每月的回报以公司提供的手机应用程序中的会员积分形式记录，”朱警司说。但投资人必须在公司办公室完成资金提取，警司补充道。
“The monthly returns were recorded in the form of membership points in a mobile app provided by the company involved,” Chu said. But investors would have to complete fund withdrawals at the firm’s office, the superintendent added.
然而，从2024年开始，一些投资者意识到他们无法提取本金或收益，警方解释说。
However, starting in 2024, some investors realised they could not retrieve their principal investment or returns, the force explained.
BBB Group的员工 allegedly 在延迟提取请求的同时，向受害者介绍了其他投资计划，邀请他们转投新方案。
BBB Group staff allegedly then introduced other investment plans while delaying withdrawal requests, inviting the victims to switch to new schemes.
其中一项计划去年推出，提供投资者成为“BBB Group 特许经营商”的机会。
One plan, introduced last year, offered the chance for investors to become “licensees” of BBB Group.
他们将有权推广该公司的产品，并被保证每月获得210港元的利息，相当于三年内年化收益率达25%，本金可在期末提取，警方称。
They would have the right to promote the firm’s products and were guaranteed to receive HK$210 in interest that would amount to an annual return of 25 per cent over a three-year period, with the principal retrievable at the end, according to police.
“IP 计划的利息发放仅持续了两个月，之后公司便以各种借口延迟现金提取和利息发放，”朱警司说。
“Interest disbursement for the IP scheme only continued for two months, before the company used different excuses to delay cash outs and interest disbursements,” Chu said.
今年，该公司再次使用了同样的手段，推出了一种名为 iBBB 的加密货币，声称该代币代表沉香树的代币化。
The same tactic was used again this year, when the company rolled out a cryptocurrency called iBBB, which it claimed tokenised agarwood trees.
“自推出以来，iBBB 的价值一直在暴跌，目前已下跌 99.92%，”楚说。
“The value of iBBB has been plummeting since its roll-out, and has dropped by 99.92 per cent till now,” Chu said.
该主管表示，该公司最近推出了另一项计划，即在中国大陆投资建设自动洗车站。
The superintendent said the firm recently introduced another plan, investing in automated car-washing stations on the mainland.
为了吸引现有投资者，该公司据称提供了相当于新投资额 10% 至 30% 的奖金。
To lure in existing investors, the firm allegedly offered a bonus of 10 to 30 per cent of the new investment amount.