Integrity Focus

In a law enforcement operation codenamed “Arrow Shower” mounted this month, the ICAC arrested 22 individuals, including 18 frontline bank employees who had allegedly accepted bribes totalling $2 million for assisting a mortgage loan referral intermediary to defraud banks of referrals fees in over 200 applications.

The 22 arrestees were 13 men and 9 women, aged between 31 and 58. Eighteen of them were frontline staff of 10 banks, including one who had left the industry when the arrest was made. The remaining four persons were spouses and an associate of those involved in the case.

The intermediary concerned is a member of an approved mortgage loan referral intermediary. It would receive referral fees upon successful referrals of clients to the banks for mortgage loan applications.

ICAC enquiries revealed that certain bank employees had allegedly included referral application forms in documents prepared for mortgage loan applicants for their signing, so as to defraud the banks concerned to release referral fees to the intermediary after the loans were granted to the applicants. The investigation also revealed that the signatures in some of the referral forms were suspected to have been forged.

The intermediary had allegedly offered $2 million in bribes to frontline bank employees to mislead 10 banks in over 200 property mortgage loan applications. ICAC investigation revealed that the applicants had no knowledge of the mortgage referrals.

Investigation also found that the intermediary had offered bribes to individuals, including frontline bank staff, for processing certain clients’ mortgage loan applications. Such applications involved false income proof documents, while an individual had accepted bribes of over $100,000.

During the operation, search warrants were executed by ICAC officers to conduct searches at over 30 premises. All arrestees have been released on ICAC bail. As the ICAC corruption enquiries are ongoing, further enforcement actions will not be ruled out.

The ICAC reminds members of the public to stay vigilant when handling documents in relation to banking applications. They are urged to read the relevant documents carefully to avoid falling prey to criminals’ illicit activities.

The ICAC has always attached great importance to the integrity of the banking industry. The Commission wishes to reiterate that the case only involves individual frontline bank employees, and the Hong Kong banking industry as a whole is very clean. Banking regulators such as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have always been supportive of ICAC’s continuous efforts to fortify the integrity culture of the banking industry. Last year, the ICAC, HKMA and the Hong Kong Association of Banks jointly launched the Banking Industry Integrity Charter. The ICAC also provides integrity training for bank practitioners to deepen their understanding of relevant anti-corruption law and awareness of corruption risks.

The HKMA and the relevant banks rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.