Integrity Focus

The ICAC had earlier charged a former proprietor of an immigration consultancy for allegedly conspiring with a client to deceive the Immigration Department (ImmD) into granting an investment entrant application by making false representation about the latter’s investment of HK$10 million in Hong Kong. Ten additional charges were laid against the proprietor yesterday (November 27) as enquiries by the Commission revealed that he was also implicated in other similar schemes. Meanwhile, four investment entrant applicants and an employee of the immigration consultancy concerned were also charged.

Tam Chi-ming, 50, former sole director-cum-shareholder of Wealth Concepts Consultancy (Greater China) Limited (Wealth Concepts), was charged in June this year with one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law. Upon receipt of further legal advice from the Department of Justice, Tam was charged with another 10 counts of similar offences yesterday.

Four investment entrant applicants, aged between 44 and 51, namely Li Ju, Wei Xinwen, Lu Junkai and Cao Hongguang; and an immigration consultant of Wealth Concepts, Su Dajie, 38, were each charged with one count or two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

The six defendants were released on ICAC bail, pending their appearance at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (November 29) for mention. The prosecution will later make an application for transferring the case to the District Court for plea.

In 2003, the Hong Kong Government implemented the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (the Scheme) to facilitate the entry for residence by capital investment entrants. The ImmD was responsible for processing the relevant applications. An applicant to be granted a permission to stay in Hong Kong for two years must have net assets of a market value not less than HK$10 million throughout the two years preceding the application; and remain invested not less than HK$10 million in specific permissible investment asset classes within six months after the granting of approval-in-principle by the ImmD (the remain-invested requirement). Applicants may apply for permanent residency of Hong Kong or unconditional stay in Hong Kong respectively upon continuous ordinary residence of or investment in Hong Kong for not less than seven years.

Applicants were prohibited from borrowing money for holding specified financial assets. In accordance with the remain-invested requirement, applicants were also not allowed to assign any interest in favour of others in the financial assets concerned. The Scheme was suspended in 2015.

At the material time, Tam was the sole director-cum-shareholder of Wealth Concepts, which provided consultancy services to individuals for immigration to Hong Kong. Su was an immigration consultant of the company. At that time, a number of applicants of the Scheme engaged Wealth Concepts to handle their applications.

Eight of the additional charges allege that between April 2016 and July 2024, Tam had conspired with eight applicants, including four co-defendants, Li, Wei, Lu and Cao, to defraud the ImmD, inducing the ImmD to grant their applications for immigration to Hong Kong and the subsequent extensions of stay in Hong Kong.

False applications purporting to show that the eight applicants had met the investment requirement were allegedly submitted to falsely represent that they had each invested a total sum of HK$10 million in the bonds issued by a listed company in Hong Kong and remained the absolute beneficial owners of the investments.

Another two additional charges allege that Tam and Su, a staff member of his company, conspired with another two applicants to defraud the ImmD, inducing the ImmD to grant their applications for immigration to Hong Kong and the subsequent extensions of stay in Hong Kong by similar means.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Enquiries revealed that the applicant did not have sufficient funds for meeting the relevant requirements on investment.

Tam was earlier charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud. The case is scheduled for mention at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on February 13, 2025.

An ICAC spokesperson noted that the Commission had kept reviewing various investment entrant and talent admission schemes with the relevant government departments so as to strengthen regulating the schemes to stamp out corruption or other malpractices. The ImmD had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.