Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) yesterday (August 4) filed charges against a former bank employee, an intermediary, and another individual, alleging they received and offered bribes totaling HKD 29,000 to facilitate the intermediary's clients in opening bank accounts.

The charges indicate that the three defendants allegedly engaged in receiving and offering bribes between May and October 2024 to enable Zheng Kaiying to process bank account applications referred by Lin Boxian. The trio is accused of conspiring to provide Zheng Kaiying with a bribe of HKD 13,000; Zheng Kaiying is also alleged to have accepted four bribes from Lin Boxian totaling HKD 16,000. Lin Boxian reportedly offered bribes of HKD 300 to HKD 600 per referred client to Zheng Kaiying.

Zheng Kaiying, 31, a former banking business officer at HSBC Holdings PLC; Lin Boxian, 27, an intermediary; and Zheng Jiayao, 35, a friend of Zheng Kaiying, are jointly charged with one count of conspiracy to offer an advantage to an agent, violating Section 9(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance. Zheng Kaiying faces four additional charges of accepting advantages from an agent under Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, while Lin Boxian is additionally charged with one count of offering an advantage to an agent under Section 9(2)(a) of the same ordinance.

At the time of the incident, Zheng Kaiying worked at a branch of HSBC Holdings PLC in Sheung Wan. Lin Boxian acted as an intermediary referring clients to insurance brokerage firms for policy purchases and arranging bank account openings to facilitate premium payments. During an internal investigation at HSBC Holdings PLC, multiple suspicious account applications handled by Zheng Kaiying were identified, suggesting she failed to fully conduct the required due diligence. The ICAC later received a corruption complaint and, after an investigation, uncovered the alleged corrupt activities of the three individuals. The defendants have been granted bail and are scheduled to appear in the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on August 6 for a plea.