Hong Kong's ICAC steps up cooperation with mainland Chinese anti-graft counterparts
Cross-border visits by anti-corruption agents rise amid crackdown, agency's report shows
Hong Kong's anti-graft agency is cementing greater ties with the mainland as Beijing continues its unprecedented crackdown on corruption.
Latest figures on cross-border cooperation involving the Independent Commission Against Corruption and its mainland counterparts reveal a steady rise in investigations by agents on each other's patch.
In its annual report, out yesterday, the ICAC revealed it had made 18 visits to the mainland last year, 11 more than in 2012.
The number of interviews with witnesses involved in live ICAC investigations carried out on the mainland had also shown a steady increase, with graft-busters cross-examining 36 witnesses last year, up from 23 in 2013 and 12 in 2012.
Investigators from the mainland also visited Hong Kong 16 times last year, interviewing five residents under the mutual case assistance scheme. In 2013, mainland investigators came to Hong Kong 25 times and interviewed four witnesses.
The growing cooperation comes as President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive - in the shape of operations Skynet and Foxhunt - continues apace.