Hong Kong bank staff among 32 arrested in HK$140 million loan scam case

A total of 32 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 for scamming 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 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 involved 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 following the Covid-19 outbreak.