Former company director gets 11 months for $5.6m L/C fraud
2000-7-12
A former company director was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment at District Court today (Wednesday) for setting up a “shelf company” to defraud from two banks Letters of Credit (L/C) facilities worth $5.6 million based on bogus business transactions.
Alexandre Joseph Vieira, 34, earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud.
Judge Fung said an immediate custodial sentence was imposed as the offences committed by the defendant were serious.
The court was told that Vieira was a director of Nutritional Foods Production Company (NFP) and Avec Technology Ltd. (Avec) when the offences took place. Lam Ka-man, Carman, was a clerk employed by both companies.
NFP produced and distributed foodstuffs, while Avec supplied plastic food containers and moulds for making containers.
In November 1997, Vieira instructed Lam to set up Kam Hoi Plastic Moulds Company (Kam Hoi), a “shelf company”.
Between November 14, 1997 and June 5, 1998, Vieira asked Lam to produce bogus Kam Hoi sales invoices purporting to show the sale of goods from Kam Hoi to Avec.
Vieira used these bogus sales invoices to apply on behalf of Avec to Kwong On Bank and Dao Heng Bank for L/Cs as payment for the non-existent goods.
The banks were misled into believing that the sales invoices were for genuine transactions and issued 16 L/Cs totalling $5,664,300 to Kam Hoi.
All the L/Cs were drawn down by Kam Hoi and the money was transferred to Avec or Vieira's bank accounts.
The case originated from a corruption complaint, alleging that Vieira might have offered bribes to Lam in return for her assistance in the scam.
The prosecution was today represented by Government Counsel Prakash Daryanani, assisted by ICAC officer Fred Simmons.
Alexandre Joseph Vieira, 34, earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud.
Judge Fung said an immediate custodial sentence was imposed as the offences committed by the defendant were serious.
The court was told that Vieira was a director of Nutritional Foods Production Company (NFP) and Avec Technology Ltd. (Avec) when the offences took place. Lam Ka-man, Carman, was a clerk employed by both companies.
NFP produced and distributed foodstuffs, while Avec supplied plastic food containers and moulds for making containers.
In November 1997, Vieira instructed Lam to set up Kam Hoi Plastic Moulds Company (Kam Hoi), a “shelf company”.
Between November 14, 1997 and June 5, 1998, Vieira asked Lam to produce bogus Kam Hoi sales invoices purporting to show the sale of goods from Kam Hoi to Avec.
Vieira used these bogus sales invoices to apply on behalf of Avec to Kwong On Bank and Dao Heng Bank for L/Cs as payment for the non-existent goods.
The banks were misled into believing that the sales invoices were for genuine transactions and issued 16 L/Cs totalling $5,664,300 to Kam Hoi.
All the L/Cs were drawn down by Kam Hoi and the money was transferred to Avec or Vieira's bank accounts.
The case originated from a corruption complaint, alleging that Vieira might have offered bribes to Lam in return for her assistance in the scam.
The prosecution was today represented by Government Counsel Prakash Daryanani, assisted by ICAC officer Fred Simmons.