ICAC details areas of cross-border concern
Manufacturers and traders are most vulnerable to cross-border corruption, the ICAC has found.
Figures from the Independent Commission Against Corruption showed cases involving the two sectors made up 50 per cent of the 76 cross-border corruption complaints it received last year.
The transport trade attracted 17 per cent of complaints, and the finance and insurance sector accounted for 13 per cent.
Although the ICAC's jurisdiction is limited to Hong Kong, officers say they can still handle cross-border cases if there are Hong Kong elements.
'The ICAC can follow a case if part of it, for example discussions [between suspects] or the bank accounts used for transferring the bribe money, was in Hong Kong,' said Helen Lee Ching Po-han of the commission's community relations department.
Last year, the anti-corruption agency launched investigations into 54 of the 76 cross-border cases it received.
Mrs Lee said businessmen the ICAC had spoken to were most worried about staff accepting advantages, having conflict of interest at work and accepting unauthorised commissions from business partners.
Much of the corruption happened when companies bought materials or contracted out work, she said.
'Businessmen often take a tight control of things at the core aspect of their businesses, such as buying basic materials for their products, when investing overseas,' she said.
'But for non-core aspects, such as packaging or transportation, they tend to delegate them to subordinates to handle. We found that when problems arise ... they often involve non-core aspects such as these.'
The commission has produced anti-corruption material for small and medium-sized enterprises who want to tap the mainland market.
