Three then bank employees charged by ICAC admit bribery over account opening

Two then bank employees, among five individuals charged by the ICAC, today (March 19) admitted at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts that they had conspired together to accept bribes for assisting clients of the intermediaries to open bank accounts. Another the employee of the bank had earlier entered a guilty plea.

Lo Wing-hang, 31, then insurance specialist of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC); and Lo Cheuk-kim, 40, then premier relationship manager of HSBC, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.

Co-defendant Wan Hui, 32, then premier business manager of HSBC, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage.

Principal Magistrate Mr David Cheung Chi-wai adjourned the case for sentence, with the sentence of Lo Wing-hang and Wan adjourned to April 14, while Lo Cheuk-kim’s sentence adjourned to May 4. The trio were granted bail.

Between November 2022 and February 2025, the three HSBC employees were posted to a branch in North Point. The court heard that Lo Wing-hang had reached an agreement with two intermediaries to assist clients referred by them to open bank accounts at HSBC, and to accept a bribe ranging from HK$500 to HK$1,500 for each successful application.

Lo Wing-hang later engaged his colleague Lo Cheuk-kim to assist in opening accounts and paid the latter HK$100 for each successful application. During the period, the duo had accepted bribes totalling over HK$170,000 according to the agreement.

Between October 2024 and February 2025, Wan had assisted 12 clients referred by the two intermediaries to open bank accounts and accepted bribes totalling RMB6,000.

The court heard that the three bank employees had assisted a total of about 250 clients referred by the two intermediaries to open bank accounts. Seventy of these bank accounts, which were considered to have money laundering risk after being assessed by HSBC, were referred to the relevant law enforcement agency for follow up actions.

The two insurance agents cum intermediaries concerned, Han Jie and his wife Zhou Yinying, faced two counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and one count of offering an advantage to an agent. No plea was taken when they appeared at the court today. Their case was adjourned to May 4 for plea.

HSBC rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Nathan Choi.

The ICAC has long attached great importance to the integrity of bank practitioners. With the full support of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the banking industry, the ICAC launched the Banking Industry Integrity Charter in 2024 to promote an integrity culture in the industry. The ICAC will continue to enhance its exchange with the industry under the framework of the Charter to heighten practitioners’ sensitivity to corruption risks, and provide continuous integrity training for bank practitioners.