Hong Kong bank staff among 32 arrested in HK$140 million loan scam case
Operation between anti-corruption agency and police uncovers network exploiting pandemic-era small and medium-sized enterprise loan scheme
Thirty-two people, including more than a dozen frontline bank staff, have been arrested in a joint operation by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency and police over an alleged scam involving HK$140 million (US$18 million) in government-backed preferential loans.
The operation, code-named “Momentum”, discovered bribes totalling HK$500,000 were paid to 13 frontline employees across 10 banks, principal investigator Grace Yee Hin-lai of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday.
She said seven intermediaries, seven loan applicants and five other individuals were also arrested in the sting on October 30 and 31, which targeted 28 applications from 22 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“The Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation shows that the entire process of the loan applications involved in the case was orchestrated by intermediaries,” Yee said.
The case involves loan products under the government’s Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme, including 80, 90 and 100 per cent credit guarantee products. The schemes were designed to help businesses survive the economic downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 100 per cent guarantee, launched in April 2020, aimed to ease pressure on firms struggling to pay wages and rent, with the application period ending in March last year.