ICAC plays host to international anti-graft training programme as Hong Kong returns to normalcy

Kem Sopheap, a big fan of Hong Kong culture, returned to the city after her last trip three years ago. Apart from being able to visit her favourite Victoria Harbour and other scenic views, this time the trip meant much more to her. Sopheap, a law enforcer of the Anti-Corruption Unit, Cambodia, was here to attend a specialist training course focusing on financial investigation hosted by the Hong Kong ICAC.

“Cambodia is planning to set up a forensic accounting bureau soon and the ICAC course is a very good experience for me. The case study and the methodology of investigation they shared are very useful and relevant to my job,” Kem Sopheap said.

A total of 30 local and overseas law enforcers, including Kem Sopheap, met in Hong Kong in early December 2022 for the 9-day Financial Investigation Specialist Training (FIST), the ICAC’s first face-to-face training programme engaging participants from local and overseas counterparts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FIST programme, themed “Fortifying Investigative Forces in Combating Corruption”, featured presentations by senior ICAC forensic accountants on the Commission’s expertise in financial investigation, covering topics such as forensic investigation techniques, financial data analysis, illicit fund tracing, money laundering, asset recovery and mutual legal assistance.

The programme was set to enhance the anti-corruption capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region in view of increasingly advanced technology and growing inter-dependence of the world’s financial systems which have facilitated criminals to secure and hide their ill-gotten gains from corruption and related crimes.

ICAC Commissioner Danny Woo Ying-ming stressed that FIST was held timely and with a special meaning. “We want to tell our friends from all over the world that Hong Kong has returned to normalcy and is ready to join hands with our counterparts in furthering our common cause of combatting corruption and related crimes,” Woo said.

“Our collaboration through training and skills sharing will for sure bring us closer together in our cause. In doing so, the ICAC will strive to serve our country and maintain Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial centre,” Woo added.

The ICAC has always recognised the importance of financial investigation capabilities in effectively fighting corruption. As early as 2011, the Commission reached a milestone by establishing a dedicated Forensic Accounting Group comprising forensic accountants who were equipped with professional qualifications and extensive forensic accounting experience.

Ricky Yau Shu-chun, the ICAC’s Deputy Commissioner and Head of Operations, remarked that the Group had greatly strengthened the Commission’s enforcement capabilities, especially in dealing with complex corruption investigations. Financial investigation had become an indispensable tool in the armory of any anti-corruption agency, Yau noted.

“No law enforcement agencies can battle corruption crime alone. When we law enforcement agencies share and put together our expertise, the resulting efforts will be exponential. Hence it is obvious that international collaboration is the right direction for us,” Yau added.

In addition to classroom sessions, FIST also featured a guided tour to various ICAC facilities. Participants also visited other local law enforcement agencies and financial regulators. Visits to local communities were also arranged for them to learn first-hand Hong Kong’s latest development.

“Our graft-free society and level-playing field for business has always been fundamental to Hong Kong’s success as an international financial centre. We are glad that this kind of face-to-face training and exchange has resumed. This will enable overseas law enforcers to learn first-hand that a probity culture continues to be an important feature of our society,” Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the Operations Review Committee cum Vice-Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, told the participants at a presentation.

Among the 30 participants of FIST were 16 overseas participants from the Anti-Corruption Commission, Bhutan; Anti-Corruption Bureau, Brunei Darussalam; Anti-Corruption Unit, Cambodia, Corruption Eradication Commission, Indonesia; Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Malaysia; Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Singapore; Singapore Police Force, Singapore; and National Anti-Corruption Commission, Thailand.

Locally, 14 participants, including eight ICAC officers and six law enforcers from the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong Police Force and Securities and Futures Commission, took part in the programme.

Pattraporn Leelahawong from the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Thailand told the ICAC Post that she was impressed by the ICAC’s anti-corruption strategy and investigative ability. “It is a very useful course for us as an investigator, especially from the anti-corruption field. Attending the course has allowed us to learn so much about financial investigation which is a very important element in our investigative work,” Pattraporn Leelahawong noted.

The ICAC has always attached great importance to international anti-corruption co-operation which, even during the pandemic, was never interrupted as the Commission made use of online platforms to continue with its work. The FIST programme is a new beginning.

“We hope to be able to maintain face-to-face anti-graft exchange to strengthen global collaboration in tackling corruption crimes, and to tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong,” ICAC Commissioner Danny Woo Ying-ming concluded.