A then employee of a design consultancy and three others were charged by the ICAC today (February 12) for allegedly conspiring together for the employee to accept bribes of over $230,000 for assisting two works contractors to secure two renovation projects of Japanese chain stores involving project fees totalling over $25 million.

An ICAC corruption investigation earlier revealed a dummy insurance agents’ scheme where individuals had conspired together to defraud two insurers of commissions totalling about $52 million by making false representations about the handling agents of 478 insurance policies and to launder crime proceeds. A then branch manager of an insurer, who recruited various individuals to take part in the plot, was today sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment at the District Court while 10 dummy insurance agents received jail terms ranging from 11 to 22 months.

In late 2003, the ICAC smashed a fraud syndicate which recruited individuals to defraud the Housing Authority (HA) of interest-free home assistance loans totalling over $10 million and three banks of mortgage loans in a total sum of over $5 million by falsifying the occupations and incomes of dummy applicants, resulting in the prosecution of over 30 persons, including backbone members of the syndicate and dummy applicants. The head of the syndicate, who had been wanted by the ICAC since 2004 after jumping bail, was charged upon returning to Hong Kong. A court mention was conducted in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts this afternoon (February 7).

An ICAC corruption investigation earlier revealed that a certified public accountant had stolen over USD1.25 million in total from two companies when he served as a trustee handling their business and financial affairs. The defendant, convicted of theft after trial, was today (February 7) sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at the District Court.

A small house applicant, charged by the ICAC, today (February 7) admitted at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts that he had conspired with a developer to sell his “Ding Right” and deceive the Lands Department into granting him a building licence for a small house in Sai Kung.

A then principal of a government-aided primary school, charged by the ICAC, today (February 6) admitted at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts that he had made false representations about not receiving salary payments and being authorised to withdraw funds for organising activities to deceive the school into making duplicate salary payments to him for two months and granting him school funds totalling over $270,000.

A then team manager of the Hong Kong, China’s Water Polo Team (HK Water Polo Team), charged by the ICAC, today (February 6) admitted at the District Court that he had deceived the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) into releasing government training allowances totalling over $410,000 by falsifying training records of athletes.

Two then project managers of a contractor of the Drainage Services Department (DSD) were charged by the ICAC yesterday (February 4) for allegedly making various false representations that they had obtained the required number of quotations to deceive the contractor into awarding over 30 maintenance orders for sewage treatment facilities in the total sum of over $6.3 million to three subcontractors.

Three then site team leaders of a sub-contractor of the Third Runway Project of the Hong Kong International Airport (Third Runway Project), charged by the ICAC in separate cases, today (February 4) admitted that they had accepted bribes totalling about $880,000 from over 80 fellow workers for securing their employment. One of the trio who instructed workers to tell the ICAC that they had not paid bribes also pleaded guilty to perversion.

A then substantial shareholder of a listed company and its then chairman, charged by the ICAC and convicted after trial, were today (February 3) sentenced to 34 months and 37 months in jail respectively at the District Court for conspiring with a businessman to defraud The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), the listed company and its board of directors and shareholders by concealing a secret “backdoor listing” agreement in a capital raising exercise involving illicit payments of over $200 million. The ICAC had already filed with the court an application for confiscating the crime proceeds concerned.