Hong Kong ICAC Charges Four for Defrauding DBS Bank

Source: Regulation Asia Editors, Regulation Asia 2020-06-08

The individuals are charged for money laundering, bribery offences, and for using false documentation to defraud DBS into issuing letters of credit worth HK$75.3mn.

Hong Kong’s ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) has charged four individuals for their alleged roles in a HKD 75.3 million (USD 9.7 million) letters of credit fraud involving over HKD 1.7 million bribes, and money laundering.

The defendants are:

51-year-old Wang Xiaoshan, deputy general manager of the Hong Kong unit of publicly-listed China Railway Construction Corporation
56-year-old Lau Hing-lung, director of now-defunct King Tai Construction, and chief administrative officer of now-defunct Top Famous Construction Engineering
69-year-old Lo Pui-yu, director of Top Famous Construction Engineering
33-year-old Chan Ka-ho, a director of Azure Industrial.

Wang, Lau and Lo face a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud DBS Bank into issuing three letters of credit worth HKD 75.3 million in favour of King Tai Construction, knowing there was no genuine underlying transaction for the letters of credit.

The three are said to have produced false documentation – including invoices, packing lists and cargo receipts – to support the applications between June 2016 and March 2017.

Wang and Lo further face two joint bribery charges for conspiracy to accept over HKD 1.7 million as inducements or rewards for obtaining financial assistance to Top Famous Construction Engineering from China Railway Construction units.

12 other charges allege that between January and September 2017, Lo dealt with the HKD 75.3 million, while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that it represented proceeds of an indictable offence.

One of Lo’s charges was issued jointly against Chan, his son-in-law.

Lau faces one count of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.

All four defendants will appear at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday (9 June) for mention.

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DBS Bank

fraud

Hong Kong ICAC Charges Four for Defrauding DBS Bank

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