In the first action of its kind, Hong Kong’s market regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, and its anti-graft body, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, are jointly investigating two financial services companies, Convoy Global Holdings and Lerado Financial Group, on suspicion of corruption.

The case has thrust into the spotlight businesses that had humble origins but which have gone on to become part of a complex web of companies.

● Convoy began life in 1993 with 10 staff, offering advice on insurance products and later for the Mandatory Provident Fund, Hong Kong’s retirement pension system. It listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2010, subsequently expanding into overseas property investment consulting, money lending and asset management. It now employs some 1,600 people, according to its website, and is led by group chairman and executive director Quincy Wong Lee-man, who in 2015 finished third in the annual Antarctic 100K Marathon race, the first person from Hong Kong to cross the finish line in the event. Convoy shares remained suspended on Friday. It last traded at 16.7 HK cents, giving it a market value of HK$2.49 billion (US$319 million). It posted a net loss of HK$141.97 million in the six months to June 30. Its registered office is in the Cayman Islands.