The ICAC mounted a law enforcement operation codenamed “Lion Rock” this week (February 9 and 10) to combat suspected corruption and other related illicit activities involving the grand renovation projects of seven housing estates and buildings across the territory, arresting a total of 22 individuals.

Hong Kong is ranked the 12th least corrupt place among 182 countries/territories in the latest survey by international anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI), five places up from previous year’s ranking. The rise not only marked one of the most notable advances since the index was first launched in 1995, but also earned Hong Kong the second least corrupt place in Asia.

A then general manager of a pharmaceutical wholesaler charged by the ICAC today (February 10) pleaded guilty at the District Court to deceiving the wholesaler into paying service fees totalling about $1.1 million by making false representations that consultancy services were provided by a secretarial services company operated by his subordinate. A director of the secretarial services company concerned pleaded guilty to money laundering.

A man charged by the ICAC was today (February 5) sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts after pleading guilty to having offered a bribe of RMB600 to a Driving Examiner of the Transport Department (TD) when he attended the Commercial Vehicle Test on Tuesday (February 3) with a view to passing the test.

A man was charged by the ICAC today (February 4) for allegedly offering a bribe of RMB600 to a Driving Examiner of the Transport Department (TD) when he attended the Commercial Vehicle Test yesterday (February 3) with a view to passing the test. The Driving Examiner did not succumb to corruption and reported the incident to the TD.

A property buyer appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts this morning (February 3) for mention after being charged by the ICAC for allegedly deceiving a bank and the HKMC Insurance Limited (HKMCI) into granting a mortgage loan totalling over $4.6 million with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 90 per cent by making false representations that a residential property was for self-use.

An ICAC delegation, headed by ICAC Commissioner Mr Woo Ying-ming, attended Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) anti-corruption meetings held in Guangzhou to further reinforce international anti-graft collaboration.

A then bank employee was charged by the ICAC last Friday (January 30) for allegedly breaching the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (POBO) by disclosing an ICAC investigation to a family member, having learned that he was a subject of an on-going ICAC investigation.

In two operations codenamed “Thunderclap” and “Thunder” mounted in mid-January, the ICAC neutralised two corruption syndicates and arrested 33 individuals, including their masterminds and backbone members on suspicion of defrauding government technology subsidies amounting to over $150 million in applications under the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme (DTSPP) and the Technology Voucher Programme (TVP) through bribery. Following ICAC’s law enforcement actions and interdepartmental co-operation, the approval and release of subsidies totalling over $120 million were put on hold.

Following a corruption investigation by the ICAC which revealed that some individuals had illegally applied for certificates of registration as electrical workers and misled the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) to issue the relevant certificates by falsifying work experience, the Commission mounted an operation codenamed “Beacon Tower”, arresting a number of people. After conducting intensive investigations and seeking legal advice, a total of 20 people were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud in three cases yesterday and today (January 27 and 28).