3. Corruption pitfalls

Video 1 – Drunken promise

Alan

●　It is unlawful under section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (PBO) and section 124 of the Banking Ordinance for Alan, without the bank’s approval, to accept Chief Chen’s ginseng for assisting Chen in obtaining the letter of credit from the bank.
●　It is also against the HKMA Supervisory Policy Manual – Code of Conduct if he accepts personal benefits from customers. (Please refer to para 2.8 of the Code: Personal benefits)
●　Since Alan is responsible for evaluating Chen’s investment portfolios, he should avoid over-socialising with Chen. He should also refuse lavish entertainment from Chen, both of which may affect his judgement at work.

Chief Chen

●　Chen violates section 9 of the PBO as he offers ginseng to Alan as inducement to Alan’s assistance. He is still liable no matter whether Alan finally accepts the ginseng or not.
●　It will also amount to fraud if he obtains the letter of credit from the bank with falsified documents.

Other points to note

●　It is a criminal offence under the PBO if any person offers an advantage to an employee as a reward for an act in relation to the employee’s work without the permission of the recipient’s principal.
●　The ICAC has the authority to look into a corruption case if any part of it takes place in Hong Kong. It does not matter whether the scam originates in Hong Kong.
●　Bank employees must abide by local laws and regulations when they work outside Hong Kong. In this scenario, Alan and Chief Chen may have violated Articles 163 and 164 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (Accepting bribes by and offering bribes to non-State functionaries).