Two Hong Kong men in their seventies have been conned out of HK$48 million through multiple transfers in two separate scams involving fake officials and cryptocurrency.

Police said on Friday that one victim, 77, claimed to have received a call on June 7 from an individual impersonating a mainland Chinese official, who accused him of being involved in a criminal case across the border and demanded payment to prove his innocence.

“The victim followed the instructions and made 24 separate transfers totalling about HK$21.8 million to three designated local bank accounts between June 10 and August 15,” the force said. “The scammer later became unreachable.”

The force said the victim then suspected he had been scammed and filed a report on Sunday.

According to a preliminary investigation, the case was listed as obtaining property by deception.

No arrests have been made so far, with the Technology and Financial Crime Squad in the Kowloon City division following up on the case.