The ICAC continued to maintain its effectiveness in combating graft and achieved an 87 per cent conviction rate last year, making corruption a high-risk crime, the ICAC Annual Report revealed.

Tabled at the Legislative Council (Legco) today (Wednesday), the 2008 ICAC Annual Report also noted that non-anonymous reports received by the ICAC last year reached a record high of 74 per cent, indicative of the public's disdain for corruption and their trust in the ICAC.

Presenting the report at Legco, Mr Chan Kam-lam, legislator and member of the Advisory Committee on Corruption, said the Commission continued its relentless efforts to effectively combat graft through investigation, prevention and education in the year under review.

The total number of corruption reports received in 2008 dropped six per cent to 3,377, of which 65 per cent were related to the private sector, 28 per cent concerned government departments, and the remaining seven per cent was against public bodies.

In his review, ICAC Commissioner, Dr Timothy Tong Hin-ming, noted that to tackle the increasingly complex cases and anticipated challenges of the financial tsunami, the Commission had stepped up staff training in financial investigation and computer forensics skills, and enhanced investigative resources especially in regard to corruption crime in the private sector.

In 2008, a series of seminars were held to enhance investigators' knowledge on the global and local financial system and its regulatory mechanism. These seminars, conducted by experts in the financial sector, will continue to be held in 2009.

Due to the large number of complex corruption related fraud cases investigated, the Financial Investigation Section probed into 7,095 financial transactions in 168 cases, involving an aggregated sum of $4.4 billion in 2008.

Meanwhile, the Commission's Computer Forensics Section carried out 502 computer data analysis relating to 111 operations in which 368 computers were seized.

"Fully aware of the strategic importance of information technology in enhancing our investigative efficacy, the Commission is now supported by a new integrated information technology infrastructure with advanced capacity and tight security," Dr Tong said.

During the year, preventive efforts focussed on areas of public concerns, including building maintenance works, the letting and administration of schools lunch-box contracts, and corporate governance in both public bodies and listed companies.

The Corruption Prevention Department set up a dedicated team to render prompt services to government departments in the implementation of job creation stimulus measures. Such services covered the areas of project management and supervision, recruitment, procurement and the letting of contracts.

The Commission had also collaborated with the Civil Service Bureau to conduct workshops on contract management for outsourced public services and other areas of concern for 81 government bureaux and departments, Dr Tong added.

In view of the close links between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, Dr Tong said the ICAC would continue to strengthen co-operation with its counterparts to promote business ethics through experience sharing in seminars and "best practice" guidebooks.

In 2008, the Commission organised two major conferences on corruption prevention for the construction and financial sectors in conjunction with the Ministry of Supervision and the Macao Commission Against Corruption.

The ICAC also collaborated with the Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate last year to launch an ethics programme for small and medium enterprises with cross-boundary investments.

Clean building management remained a work priority for the Commission as this sector registered 943 graft reports last year, representing 43 per cent of all private sector complaints received, the Commissioner noted.

While the Commission was closely watching suspected organised corrupt activities involving professionals and other undesirable elements, a multi- faceted preventive and education programme was launched last year to promote clean building management.

On the international liaison front, the Commission continued to actively engage in anti-corruption exchanges with other jurisdictions and institutions, including Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Canada, the European Commission, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States of America and the United Nations.

In 2008, the Commission also received 36 delegations comprising over 760 senior Mainland officials and conducted 215 briefings for over 6,500 Mainland government officers and executives from state-owned enterprises.