Graft complaints in Hong Kong’s finance and insurance sectors up by 20 per cent, with 177 cases reported this year

But graft-buster says that overall, there’s no sign of corruption worsening

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The chairpersons of ICAC's four independent advisory committees (L-R) Albert Au Siu-cheung, Maria Tam Wai-chu, Chow Chung-kong and Professor Timothy Tong Wai-cheung gave an overview of the corruption situation in Hong Kong for the year. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 3:32pm, 20 Dec 2017Updated: 5:01pm, 20 Dec 2017

Complaints of corruption in Hong Kong’s finance and insurance sectors rose by almost 20 per cent to 177 in the first 11 months of this year, the city’s graft buster revealed on Wednesday, even as it said that this did not point to a worsening problem.

However just weeks ago, Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) mounted a large scale investigation of listed company Convoy Global Holdings, in the city’s largest corruption crackdown in a decade.

It arrested three senior executives who were suspended by Convoy’s board. The company is a financial adviser to Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund pension scheme and a provider of retirement planning and insurance services.

ICAC said the rise in complaints this year was in comparison to 148 cases in the same period last year. Companies were accused of using forged documents to deceive others, receiving bribes for granting loans and referring business, and questionable awarding of contracts, among other things.

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But Chow Chung-kong, the chairman of ICAC’s advisory committee on corruption, said the figure did not suggest that graft was worsening in the city.