A sales manager of an architect firm and an employee of a property management company were caught red-handed by the ICAC on Monday (November 22) after a transaction of a suspected corrupt payment of $10,000 took place.

The payment was suspected to have been offered by the operator of the architect firm as part of a scheme to corruptly secure consultancy and renovation contracts of a number of residential buildings.

Sixteen other persons were also arrested by the ICAC in Monday’s operation, code-named “Lion” , for suspected corruption offences as well as alleged tender rigging activities in relation to those contracts.

The other arrestees included the operator and a salesman of the architect firm; four employees of three property management companies; a general manager of a construction company; a director, two operators and two employees of three engineering companies.

Also arrested in the ICAC operation were three chairmen of the owners’ incorporation (OI) of different buildings, as well as a director of another architect firm.

The ICAC investigation also involves allegations that the staff of the architect firm had accepted advantages from a number of contractors as rewards for disclosing tendering information in relation to the renovation contracts of these buildings.

The arrestees have been released on ICAC bail, pending further investigation.