Hong Kong’s Immigration Department (ImmD), working in close coordination with Guangdong authorities, successfully dismantled a large-scale cross-border criminal operation, resulting in 47 arrests related to the orchestration of more than 60 fraudulent marriages over two years. The coordinated enforcement action, dubbed Operation “Flash Stab 2025,” neutralised a syndicate that authorities estimate generated around HK$7.5 million through the scheme aimed at facilitating non-residents’ fraudulent attempts to gain status in Hong Kong.
Inside the Syndicate’s Operation
The coordinated arrests, culminating in sweeps on November 17, 2025, targeted the core framework of the syndicate, which was active between 2023 and 2024. Investigators successfully identified a highly structured network that offered a comprehensive, end-to-end service for sham unions.
This service included recruiting Hong Kong residents, handling all necessary governmental and marriage paperwork, escorting cohorts across the border to the mainland for the ceremonies, and providing interview coaching to ensure participants could deceive immigration officials.
Among the latest detentions were a 43-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman in Hong Kong, believed by the ImmD to be the ringleaders of the operation. These arrests built upon earlier actions where 18 men and 19 women—32 Hong Kong residents and five non-locals—aged 20 to 65 were taken into custody. Mainland police concurrently detained two core members and eight mainland residents suspected of actively participating in the conspiracy.
Recruitment and Financial Incentives
The syndicate relied heavily on digital platforms for recruitment, placing advertisements on online marketplaces and via instant messaging apps. These promotions aggressively marketed “quick cash” and “same-day payment,” falsely assuring recruits the process was “entirely safe” and legal.
Targeting Hong Kong women aged 20 and above and men aged 25 and older, the operators promised lucrative payouts, often up to HK$100,000 per marriage, delivered immediately upon completion of the ceremony.
Evidence suggests the criminal network also utilised a sophisticated commission and referral structure to ensure sustained growth. Participants who successfully completed a sham marriage were incentivised to recruit additional individuals in exchange for referral fees. In a concerning example noted by investigators, one Hong Kong arrestee who had participated in a fake marriage later helped coordinate five subsequent fraudulent cases. Authorities also allege that the two most recently arrested core members themselves entered into fraudulent unions with non-local partners in 2023.
Legal Ramifications and Public Warning
The Immigration Department has issued a stern warning to the public regarding the dangers and severe legal repercussions associated with participating in such schemes. Authorities emphasised that the pursuit of “easy money” advertised by these syndicates carries serious consequences under Hong Kong law.
Fraudulently acquiring resident status through bogus marriages is met with the cancellation of the immigrant’s identity card and eventual repatriation.
In Hong Kong, offences related to immigration fraud carry harsh penalties:
- Making False Representations to Immigration Officers: Punishable by fines up to HK$150,000 and 14 years in prison. Accessories and abettors face the same sentencing.
- False Oath/Declaration: Knowingly making a false oath to facilitate a marriage or obtain a marriage certificate carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and a fine.
- Conspiracy to Defraud: This charge, often associated with syndicate activity, is punishable by up to 14 years in prison upon conviction.
Enforcement officials confirmed that the investigation remains active and further arrests are anticipated as they continue to scrutinise the complex web of financial transactions and personal links uncovered during Operation Flash Stab 2025. The ImmD reiterated its unwavering resolve to combat attempts by non-locals to fraudulently exploit the legal process to obtain the right of abode.