Integrity Focus

Three former employees of a listed company were charged by the ICAC yesterday (December 13) with conspiracy to defraud after a corruption investigation revealed that the trio had allegedly induced the listed company to pay licence and service fees totalling about $820,000 to two companies by making false representations.

The defendants were Anthony Cheng Hiu-tung, 46; former chief financial officer of Janco Holdings Limited (JHL); David Leung Tze-hang, 67, former group senior advisor of JHL; and Cheung Pik-ha, 57, former stakeholder relations manager of JHL.

The trio jointly face two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law. They were released on ICAC bail, pending their appearance at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (December 15) for mention.

JHL is listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Janco HealthCare Limited (JHC) and Janco Express Limited (JEL) are subsidiaries of JHL respectively focusing on business of healthcare products and logistics services.

It is alleged that between June 2021 and April 2022, the trio conspired together to defraud JHL by falsely representing that JHC and JEL were due to pay a licence fee of a health product and a service fee for securing a loan from a lender totalling about $820,000, and with intent to defraud, induced JHL to make the payments to two companies.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that the two companies had never made any licence agreement with JHL and had nothing to do with JHL’s loan agreement. It was also revealed that Cheng allegedly caused JHL to settle the payments in question with the two companies even though he was aware of the circumstances. Leung and Cheung were in control of the two companies and the proceeds generated from the scam.

JHL and its subsidiaries have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The ICAC reminds senior executives of listed companies to adhere to the legal and ethical obligations so as to safeguard the interest of different stakeholders. The ICAC continues to assist listed companies to enhance their corruption prevention capabilities and corporate governance. For details, please visit the webpage of the “Ethics Promotion Programme for Listed Companies”