Hong Kong’s regulator, anti-graft body poised for more joint probes on financial malfeasance
ICAC and Securities and Futures Commission raid offices and arrest four senior executives, which SFC head says sets a precedent
An unprecedented joint probe into alleged corruption at a financial services firm by Hong Kong’s market regulator and anti-graft body will “set the scene for future investigations” of a similar nature, the head of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission said on Saturday.
SFC chief executive Ashley Alder said the probe, carried out by the commission together with the Independent Commission Against Corruption, was “very significant”.
Senior executives from financial services provider Convoy Global Holdings were arrested on Thursday and Friday by investigators from the city’s graft-buster.
“The ICAC has a different jurisdiction under a different set of laws, but obviously when there’s something in common we both are investigating ... we found that this time it has been extremely useful to combine forces,” Alder told the Post on the sidelines of a charity event.
The SFC boss was abseiling 1,000 feet down the side of One Island East in Tai Koo on Saturday as one of 35 daredevils who raised more than HK$2.5 million (US$320,000) for Outward Bound Hong Kong, a charity which organises outdoor activities for the young and disabled.
“We can’t reveal exactly why, but I think it was very significant actually that we worked together, which I think would set the scene for future investigations,” Alder said of the probe.