A proprietor of a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), charged by the ICAC, was today (December 3) sentenced to 38 months’ imprisonment at the District Court for deceiving a bank into approving a loan of over $3.8 million under the Special 100% Loan Guarantee (SLG) scheme by overstating the number of staff employed by the company and its payroll expenses.

A then manager of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and two personal friends of him were charged by the ICAC today (November 29) with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office (MIPO). It is alleged that the then SFC manager had divulged confidential information in relation to a rights issue exercise of a real estate investment trust to the two personal friends for making investment profits totalling over $11 million.

The ICAC had earlier charged a former proprietor of an immigration consultancy for allegedly conspiring with a client to deceive the Immigration Department (ImmD) into granting an investment entrant application by making false representation about the latter’s investment of HK$10 million in Hong Kong. Ten additional charges were laid against the proprietor yesterday (November 27) as enquiries by the Commission revealed that he was also implicated in other similar schemes. Meanwhile, four investment entrant applicants and an employee of the immigration consultancy concerned were also charged.