A 38-year-old British man has been jailed by the District Court for three years and four months for investment fraud.

British authorities asked the Hong Kong Police to help investigate a Spain-based syndicate believed to be involved in fraudulent shares trading and duping UK investors into transferring thousands of pounds to the defendant's Hong Kong bank accounts.

The victims were phoned by people claiming to represent an investment advisory firm and offering shares in a number of mainly US-registered companies and persuaded to buy shares in high-risk firms and transfer money into the man's Hong Kong accounts. They were then unable to get any money for their shares when they tried to sell them.

The man operated 11 bank accounts with four of them specifically being used as temporary depositories for the fraud proceeds.

From June 2005 to March 2007 the victims transferred HK$680 million to him, which was then transferred by him to two other accounts in Europe. About HK$24 million - believed to be his commission - was transferred to his personal Hong Kong account.

He was arrested in June 2007 and charged with five counts of dealing with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence. He was convicted on November 24.