We've been following the money behind Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests for months. Here's what we found: bloomberg.com/news/articles/… 
Funds bankrolling protests have collectively raised at least HK$254 million ($33 million) since June, 70% from just two groups, Spark Alliance and the 612 Humanitarian Fund, according to a tally based on disclosures from the groups and an analysis of publicly available documents.
That figure doesn’t reflect all the money raised related to the protests, only the funds Bloomberg News could verify.
The $33 million alone amounts to a third of the money the city has spent in overtime pay to 11,000 police officers since June, and would be able to purchase some 300,000 gas masks.
The largest costs faced by protesters are legal fees that may stretch out for years--cases from Hong Kong's 2014 Occupy protests are STILL ongoing.
Among dozens of groups, Spark Alliance is one of the most secretive: Even some donors and lawyers who assist the group say they don’t know who runs it, while the bank account listed on its website belongs to a firm that owns a pest control company.
The police last night called the whole operation a fraud, which its supporters COMPLETELY DISAGREE WITH. “I am more concerned of how the police and government to suppress the movement more than how Spark Alliance handled the funds,” said former lawmaker Gary Fan.
