Hong Kong customs officers on Friday said they had arrested seven people suspected of being involved in laundering around HK$14 billion.

Officers said they believe a gang pretended to be running international trading firms, passing off money transfers to Hong Kong as payments for goods including precious stones and electronic products.

Suzette Ip, head of customs’ financial investigation bureau, said it's thought HK$2.9 billion of the funds are linked to a scam carried out in India.

“The Indian authorities exchanged intelligence with us and we found that certain bank transactions were actually connected with two companies that have been taken down by the Indian authorities, being suspected of laundering crime proceeds in relation to an online mobile application scam,” Ip said.

Customs officers said the seven suspects are aged between 23 and 74. They added that assets worth around HK$165 million have been frozen as part of the investigation.