Hong Kong graft-buster arrests 20 people for allegedly faking documents for early MPF withdrawal, stoking fears among some migrants in UK
- ICAC says insurance agent was mastermind of syndicate suspected of taking bribes to help residents claim pension by falsely saying they had moved to mainland China
- According to source, some migrants from Hong Kong who had relocated to Britain made early MPF withdrawal by claiming they were moving over border
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has arrested 20 people including an insurance agent and 10 pension scheme members for allegedly withdrawing funds early by using forged documents to claim they were leaving the city permanently.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said the arrested insurance agent was the mastermind of a syndicate suspected of taking bribes to help MPF members withdraw their pension early by fabricating evidence of employment and residence in mainland China.
“They falsely represented to the MPF trustee that the MPF scheme members concerned would permanently leave Hong Kong to reside in the mainland,” an agency spokesman said. “The insurance agent had allegedly accepted bribe payments ranging from several thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars from each applicant.”
The spokesman said 20 people, including the agent, who was also an MPF intermediary, and 10 MPF members had been arrested for allegedly violating the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. They have been released on bail.
During the operation, ICAC officers armed with court warrants searched various premises, including residences and offices of the suspects.
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Under the current policy, MPF scheme members can only withdraw their money when they are 65, unless they can demonstrate they have permanently left Hong Kong.
Scheme members were therefore unable to use the passport or its associated visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of their pension. The UK announced the BN(O) visa migration pathway after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020.
According to a source, some migrants from Hong Kong who had relocated to Britain made an early MPF withdrawal by claiming they were emigrating to the mainland, as they could not get the money otherwise.
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The insider said some migrants in Britain were now living in fear of being prosecuted if they returned to Hong Kong to visit.
Rumours regarding arrests in similar circumstances had been circulating within the Hong Kong community in Britain since the summer, the source said.
The rumours suggested individuals who had previously made such claims and then returned to Hong Kong to visit were arrested and their passports confiscated. As a result, they were unable to reunite with their families in the UK, it was claimed.
The ICAC said the investigation was still under way, and the spokesman said it would decide whether to pursue prosecution after seeking legal advice.
A spokesman for the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority on Friday expressed “grave concern” over the case and said it was fully cooperating with the ICAC investigation.
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The authority warned that offenders making false or misleading statements for early withdrawal violated the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance.
Under the BN(O) visa migration pathway, successful applicants and their dependants can live, work and study in Britain for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship.
Between January 2021 and June this year, 176,407 Hong Kong applications were approved, a 97 per cent success rate.
