Chapter 9
Epilogue
Damage to HK’s international financial status and reputation
The deputy judge of the Court of First Instance stated in his judgment on leave for retrial, “Corruption is a very serious crime and difficult to detect. This case, involving not only a substantial amount of bribes but also the banking industry, has tarnished Hong Kong’s status and reputation in the global banking industry. Given the high level of public trust and expectation of the integrity of relationship managers who carry on investment activities on behalf of their customers, the court cannot ignore the seriousness of this case.”
It was a simple case involving a Mainland resident at the material time. With increasing integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland in the development of the banking industry, many Mainlanders have been conducting investment activities in Hong Kong. Thus, the integrity of banking practitioners has a significant impact on safeguarding the status and reputation of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. This case was first uncovered by the Mainland branch of the bank, reflecting the awareness of integrity among Mainland banking practitioners and the well-developed communication mechanism in the banking sector of Hong Kong and the Mainland.
In addition to investigation, the Operations Department (OPS) has adopted a proactive approach to curb corruption effectively over the years. Among other initiatives, annual seminars have been organised to update the banking practitioners on the latest corruption trend in the industry. OPS is aware that maintaining effective communication channels with individual banks is vital to combat corruption.
Take this case as an example, it was a bank officer who reported to the ICAC that a relationship manager of the bank had solicited advantages from his customer.
As the investigating officer remarked, “Most corruption cases involving the banking industry were unearthed by staff of banks which strive to adopt a culture of probity and strong integrity awareness. After all, corruption is a secret crime. To resist the temptation of money, banking practitioners must uphold a high level of integrity.”
The Corruption Prevention Department (CPD) is devoted to help different industries (including banking industry) strengthen and continually improve their systems, procedures and controls for the prevention of corruption and related malpractice. The Corruption Prevention Advisory Service of CPD provides professional and tailor-made corruption prevention advice, services and trainings to banks/individuals upon request, and promotes corruption prevention systems and practices to the industry directly and through related professional institutions.
In collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, The Hong Kong Association of Banks and other relevant institutions, CPD has developed a “Corruption Prevention Guide for Banks” for reference by the directors, managerial staff and practitioners of banks. The Guide provides practical guidance on anti-corruption policy and control measures, covering case studies, red flags, corruption risks and corresponding safeguards, with a view to enhancing their knowledge on the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, assisting banks to strengthen their corruption prevention capabilities in major operations, and entrenching a clean business culture in the bank and in the industry.
The Community Relations Department (CRD) has partnered with banks and professional bodies to promote professional ethics and integrity among banking practitioners through seminars and integrity resources.
In an effort to enhance the ethical standard of the banking sector, the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre (HKBEDC) of CRD produces training resources for different levels of banking staff in collaboration with the banking industry regulators and associations.
In a bid to eliminate corruption and irregularities in the industry, the HKBEDC of CRD has also established the ICAC Corruption Prevention Network for Banks to strengthen exchanges with the compliance and internal audit personnel of individual banks. Banking practitioners may access information of ICAC services for the banking sector and latest integrity news from the dedicated webpage for the banking and finance sector.