Recent ICAC Cases


04
May 2023
Property officer and renovation contractor charged as ICAC graft probe reveals conspiracy to defraudIn the course of a corruption investigation by the ICAC, it was revealed that a then property officer of a property management company and a renovation contractor allegedly conspired together to deceive the Incorporated Owners (IO) of a private residential building in To Kwa Wan into awarding a water pipe replacement project to the contractor by using false quotations. The duo were charged yesterday (May 3).Lau Cheuk-yan, 41, former property officer of Harbourfield Property Management Limited (Harbourfield), and Chan Kam-wah, 57, director-cum-shareholder of Hing Fat Building Maintenance Company Limited (Hing Fat), jointly face one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law. Chan further faces five counts of possessing a false instrument, contrary to section 75(1) of the Crimes Ordinance.The defendants were released on ICAC bail and would appear at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (May 5) for plea.At the material time, Harbourfield provided property management service to Sunny Court, a private residential building in To Kwa Wan. Staff of Harbourfield were required to source at least three quotations from its approved contractors before conducting any renovation works worth between $10,000 and $200,000.In 2021, Harbourfield conducted a quotation exercise for the Sunny Court to select a renovation contractor for a water pipe replacement project. IO of Sunny Court received three quotations via Lau and subsequently awarded the project to Hing Fat, which offered the lowest bid of $70,000.It is alleged that between March and May 2021, Lau and Chan conspired together to defraud the IO of Sunny Court by falsely representing that the two quotations, except Hing Fat’s, were genuine and issued by two other engineering companies respectively, causing the IO to award the water pipe replacement project to Hing Fat.The ICAC investigation, which arose from a corruption complaint, revealed that the two engineering companies concerned were not approved contractors of Harbourfiled and had never submitted the two quotations.It is also alleged that in April 2022, Chan possessed five other false quotations purportedly issued by the two engineering companies to five other buildings, including residential buildings, commercial buildings and a shopping mall.Harbourfield and the IO of Sunny Court have rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
04
May 2023
Ex-bank manager charged by ICAC admits bribery over account openingA then bank manager, charged by the ICAC, today (May 4) admitted at the District Court that he had accepted bribes from various intermediary company representatives for assisting non-domestic clients to open personal and corporate accounts with a local bank, and used copies of false instruments to falsely represent that the clients were in Hong Kong when they made account opening applications.Lai Chee-wai, 39, then senior relationship manager of The Bank of East Asia, Limited (BEA), pleaded guilty to pleaded guilty to seven charges – six of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance; and one of conspiracy to use copies of false instruments, contrary to sections 74 and 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. Four similar charges against Lai were left on file at the District Court.Judge Mr Eddie Yip Chor-man adjourned the case to January 10 next year for mitigation and sentence. Lai was granted bail.The offences took place between December 2018 and March 2021. At the material time, Lai was a senior relationship manager of BEA posted to its Admiralty Branch. His duties included opening accounts for clients. Hongkong Hechuang Business Secretary Limited (HKHBS) and Hong Kong Chiying Consulting Co., Limited (HKCC) were intermediary companies proving secretarial services to clients. Chen Baicai was a business consultant of HKHBS while Ke Yingying was an operator of HKCC.The court heard that in late 2019, Chen told Lai that he could refer clients to BEA for opening accounts and would reward Lai $3,000 to $4,000 for his assistance in each successful application. Lai agreed to Chen’s proposal.Chen then sought Lai’s assistance in opening a corporate account for a client and Lai received a reward of $12,000. Afterwards, Chen further asked Lai to open personal accounts for his clients. Lai would accept a reward from $10,000 to $15,000 in return for each successful application.Lai also met with three other operators or representatives of intermediary companies respectively, and agreed to assist clients referred by the trio in opening accounts at BEA. Lai then received a reward from $2,000 to $10,000 for each successful application, involving bribes totalling over $290,000.As BEA required corporate account applicants to attend its branches in person for due diligence purpose, Lai and Ke conspired together to submit to BEA eight copies of false landing slips purportedly issued by the Immigration Department to falsely represent that eight applicants were in Hong Kong when the applications were made. ICAC inquiries revealed that those applicants had not visited Hong Kong at the material time.Chen and Ke were also charged by the ICAC for their roles in the scam. On December 14, 2022, Chen and Ke respectively received a jail term of 12 months and four months after pleading guilty at the District Court to a total of six charges of bribery and using copies of false instruments.BEA had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Jason Lau, assisted by ICAC officer Gary Li.To further enhance the professional standard of the banking sector, the ICAC organised the Professional Anti-Corruption Training in Banking Management in late March. The “Corruption Prevention Guide for Banks” was also launch recently to assist banks in managing corruption risks in core operations through analysing case scenarios and providing corresponding corruption prevention safeguards. To promote probity culture in the banking sector, an Ethics Promotion Programme for the Banking Industry was also launched, under which a self-learning animation series “Unveil the Secret: Integrity Myths in the Banking Industry” was produced to help frontline bank staff understand common corruption loopholes.
02
May 2023
Ex-site team leader admits conspiracy to accept bribes of $230,000 from Third Runway Project’s workersA former site team leader of a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project of the Hong Kong International Airport (Third Runway Project), charged by the ICAC, today (May 2) admitted at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts that he had conspired with another site team leader to accept bribes of about $230,000 from 29 riggers for securing their employment with the sub-contractor.Liu Yin-man, 62, former leader of a team of riggers of MEL, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for agents to accept advantages, contrary to Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.Acting Principal Magistrate Miss Veronica Heung Shuk-han adjourned the case to July 11 for sentence, pending a background report. The defendant was granted bail.The court heard that at the material time, MEL was a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project responsible for recruiting construction workers to conduct various works. In August 2020, the defendant was employed by MEL as site team leader of a team of riggers at the project’s construction site through the introduction of another site team leader. He subsequently introduced 29 riggers to work at the project’s construction site.On the instruction of the site team leader, the defendant collected bribes totalling about $230,000 from the 29 riggers for the site team leader on seven occasions between September 2020 and March 2021. Since November 2020, the defendant kept about $15,500 of the bribes, and passed the remaining sum of over $210,000 to the site team leader according to their agreement.In recent years, the ICAC had taken a series of enforcement actions against corrupt practices similar to the above-mentioned one. Regarding the Third Runway Project, 23 former employees of the main contractor and a sub-contractor of the project were charged by the ICAC with bribery. Twelve of them, including the defendant in this case, had pleaded guilty or were found guilty after trial, receiving sentences up 10 months in jail. Ten others are awaiting plea or trial, while the prosecution offered no evidence against a defendant.An ICAC spokesperson urges construction workers not to tolerate corruption. Should they be asked to offer advantages in exchange for their employment, they should report to the ICAC immediately. Report corruption hotline: 25 266 366.The Airport Authority Hong Kong, the relevant main contractor SAPR JV and MEL had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case. As the relevant corruption investigation is continuing, the ICAC does not rule out further law enforcement actions.The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officers Lai Yiu-wai and Cody Chung.
28
Apr 2023
Mortgage loan applicant charged by ICAC jailed for 10 months over $3.9m fraudA mortgage loan applicant, charged by the ICAC, was today (April 28) sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for having deceived a financial services company into granting him a mortgage loan and a decoration loan totalling about $3.9 million by making false representations about his occupation and salary. The illegal activities were revealed in the course of a corruption investigation.Johnson Szeto Keung-sang, 57, director, was earlier found guilty of two counts of fraud, contrary to Section 16A (1) of the Theft Ordinance.In sentencing, Magistrate Ms Vivian Ho Wai-han remarked that the court had to mete out a custodial sentence, having considered the nature of the offences, the defendant’s role played in the scam, and the modus operandi and the amount of loans involved.The court heard that in May 2018, the defendant submitted applications for mortgage and decoration loans totalling $3.9 million made with OCBC Wing Hang Credit Limited (Wing Hang Credit) through a financial intermediary. He stated in the application forms, which were supported by employment proofs and bank account statements, that he had been employed by an engineering company as engineering director for over 10 years with a monthly salary of over $200,000.The loan applications were subsequently approved by Wing Hang Credit and drawdowns totalling $3.9 million were made in late June and August 2018 respectively.The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Investigation revealed that the defendant had never worked at the engineering company and the company had never issued any employment proof to him. It was also revealed that the defendant had also made various cash deposits in the amount of $200,000 into his bank account purporting to be the monthly salary he received.Had Wing Hang Credit known that the loan applications and supporting documents contained fraudulent information, it would not have approved his application for a mortgage loan and a decoration loan.Wing Hang Credit had rendered full assistance to the Commission during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Kenny Chan, assisted by ICAC officer Edward Ho.
28
Apr 2023
Ex-insurance agent charged by ICAC jailed for 11 months over $1.5m commissions fraudA former insurance agent, charged by the ICAC, was today (April 28) sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment after admitting at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts that he had defrauded an insurer of commissions totalling about $1.5 million by making false representations that 20 clients had taken out various insurance policies. The offences were revealed in the course of a corruption investigation by the Commission.Yeung Yan-to, 31, former insurance agent of AXA China Region Insurance Company Limited (AXA), pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the Common Law.In sentencing, Magistrate Mr Lam Tsz-kan reprimanded the defendant for breaching the trust placed in him for personal gain. Instead of focusing on the actual benefit he obtained, the sentence should reflect the amount of money he defrauded out of the insurer, including the commissions and the insurance policies involved.At the material time, the defendant was an insurance agent of AXA, while a branch manager of AXA was his up-line agent. When an insurance product was sold, the handling agent and his/her up-line manager would be entitled to a first-year commission and an overriding commission respectively.Between August 2017 and June 2018, AXA received 21 insurance policy applications purportedly taken out by 20 clients and handled by the defendant or another down-line agent of the branch manager.The court heard that the defendant had conspired with the branch manager and the down-line agent to defraud AXA by dishonestly falsely representing to the insurer that the applications were genuinely made by those clients, causing AXA to approve the applications and release commissions to the trio.The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint. Investigation revealed that the clients did not make the above applications and had never paid any premium for the policies. Those insurance policies eventually lapsed after subsequent premiums were not paid.Had AXA known that the 21 applications contained false information, it would not have approved them and released commissions totalling about $1.5 million to the defendant, the branch manager and the down-line agent.AXA had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Betty Wong.

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