Syndicate allegedly faked overseas accidents with forged documents to claim payouts from insurers without ever leaving the city
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenOscar LiuPublished: 3:36pm, 23 Apr 2026Updated: 3:37pm, 23 Apr 2026Hong Kong police have arrested nine people over their alleged involvement in a travel insurance fraud syndicate that staged overseas accidents to claim more than HK$1.7 million (US$217,053).
The force said on Thursday it had received a report from the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers in October concerning suspicious travel insurance claims, ranging from “a few thousand to tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars”.
“Police analysed more than 70 suspicious claim cases and discovered that these claimants submitted various forged documents, including air tickets, hotel receipts and medical records from overseas hospitals,” said senior inspector Lam Ho-lim of the commercial crime bureau.
“This was done to create a false impression of being injured while travelling abroad, despite the fact that they had never actually left Hong Kong, to claim medical expenses from insurance companies.”
On Wednesday, officers arrested nine Hong Kong residents on suspicion of fraud and conspiracy to defraud. The group comprised six men and three women aged between 25 and 68.
Among those arrested were seven claimants and two alleged syndicate members, including individuals identified as both current and former insurance agents.
Police said the suspects falsely claimed to have travelled to countries including Vietnam, Japan, Italy and Singapore multiple times between April and November last year.
