Carrian inquiry justified: officers

Senior ICAC officers have declared the long and costly Carrian investigation a success which demonstrates there is no hiding place for the corrupt and fraudulent in Hong Kong.

Chief Investigator Brian Carroll said the inquiry, spanning almost two decades and costing hundreds of millions of dollars, was justified by the conviction of those involved.

Speaking before Launder was jailed, Mr Carroll, who was commended by then-governor Chris Patten for his work on the investigation, said: 'Certainly, in these cases, the sentences might not reflect the enormity of what they did. But we are just glad the convictions demonstrated that really there is no hiding place for them.' The investigation was dogged by controversy, particularly with regard to the massive costs incurred.

Mr Carroll said: 'There have been lessons learned . . . but it has been worth the money.' Principal Investigator Stephen Chan Chor-keung said: 'The ICAC has proven to the public our persistence in pursuing the corrupt to see justice done.' The investigation had ultimately had a positive impact on financial markets.

'In the 1980s there were plenty of bank fraud cases. We had banks collapsing and the government had to rescue some of them. But this has not been the situation in recent years . . . we don't have the same problems,' he said.

The investigation followed the Carrian Group's collapse in 1983 with record debts of more than US$1 billion (HK$7.76 billion).