A FIVE-YEAR hunt for $12.4 million in bribes spirited out of Hong Kong by corrupt government lawyer Warwick Reid appears to be almost over. Informed sources claim the Government has already recovered the missing millions as part of a ''deal'' with Reid's wife, Judith. Independent Commission Against Corruption officers have been searching for the $12,415,900 million in ''unexplained assets'' since before Reid, a former acting director of public prosecutions, admitted accepting bribes and was jailed for eight years on July 6, 1990. ''We are hopeful we are nearing a conclusion to this process,'' a source told the Sunday Morning Post. It remains unclear what stage the recovery of the money has reached, but it is believed that the key to resolving the problem was agreement over disposal of the Reid's home in New Zealand. ''The Legal Department is continuing to take action to recover Warwick Reid's assets he made out of corruption,'' said a spokesman for the Attorney-General, Jeremy Mathews, who is responsible for retrieving the missing money. Sources said that Reid, who is due to be released from the Special Unit at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre on November 29, had been informed of the developments and was ''furious''. The recovery of the money will be seen as a major success for the ICAC and will bring to a close a complicated saga that has involved Taiwan, China, Singapore, New Zealand and the Philippines. Due to the sensitivity of the subject, few ICAC officers would discuss the latest developments. One officer said: ''I can't confirm anything.'' But it is understood that negotiations between the Government and Mrs Reid have allowed the anti-graft officers to finally trace and identify all the assets, which are believed to have been placed in overseas accounts and property. Reid, 46, deposited large sums of money in an account at the ANZ Bank in Singapore, using his mother's maiden name, Curnow. He also deposited other substantial amounts in two accounts under the name of Berry Exports. He also has NZ$50,403 (HK$235,000) from the sale of a property in Tauranga which is being held in trust by a law firm in Hamilton, New Zealand. Other funds are believed to be in at least one bank account in Taiwan, a fact which emerged during one of the many court hearings related to his prosecution and that of the men who were convicted of bribing him over a period of years since 1986. Mrs Reid lives in a detached house with a garden in a quiet area of Tauranga, in the lush Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island, which is famous for kiwi fruit farms. It is believed this property, or part of the proceeds from the sale of the house, could go to Mrs Reid when the negotiations are finalised. The home was bought by Reid in November 1987 for NZ$191,000. He also bought two kiwi fruit orchards in 1981 and 1989 respectively, which are thought to be worth about $2 million. Reid, who has always claimed the $12.4 million was out of his control, has been unable to move his known assets because of caveats - court orders preventing disposal of funds - placed on the three properties by the Attorney-General. The saga started when the New Zealand barrister was questioned by authorities in 1989, but could not explain the $12.4 million in assets he held. He was arrested on October 27 that year. Reid fled to China in December and ended up in the Philippines. where he was detained in Manila.