Ex-UBS employee in Hong Kong jailed for 7 years for HK$14.7 million theft, money laundering amid Covid pandemic

Charles Lam is ‘perpetrator and mastermind behind it all’, deputy judge Douglas Yau says
He has been jailed for theft and money laundering, with defence counsel saying he learned ‘a bitter lesson’ and took up a nutrition course during his incarceration

Hong Kong courts

Brian Wong

Published: 4:02pm, 7 Nov 2023

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A former UBS associate director in Hong Kong has been jailed for seven years for stealing HK$14.7 million (US$1.9 million) and laundering part of the illegal proceeds through the purchase of luxury watches and handbags during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The High Court heard on Tuesday that Charles Lam Chung-yiu, 42, endorsed 46 transactions to either himself or retailers of high-end products between March and October 2020, while supervising a compensation scheme set up to reimburse overcharged clients.

The defendant, with over a decade of experience in banking, also raked in HK$8.7 million by selling some of the timepieces he bought with the illicit gains, according to prosecutors.

Lam was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport on December 3 that year when he was about to escape to London with 100 tags for Rolex watches and documents that allowed his dog to accompany him. He was planning to join his wife in the UK capital.

Further investigations revealed Lam had laundered HK$10.7 million he stole from the Swiss financial institution using two accounts, including one opened specifically for the crime.

Pleading guilty to two counts of theft and two of money laundering, Lam, who used to earn a monthly salary of HK$77,500, attributed his transgression to “job insecurity” during the pandemic in 2020.

The defendant is the crime’s ‘perpetrator and mastermind’, deputy judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong says. Photo: Warton Li

Deputy judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong said the crime was calculated and carefully executed by the accused, who changed his name twice to pretend to be the rightful recipients under the compensation scheme.

Yau added that by the time the crime came to light, Lam had already resigned and planned his emigration.

“It is obvious that the defendant was ready to escape with a view of enjoying the fruits of his thefts together with his wife and his dog,” the deputy judge said.

“He laundered the money he himself stole. He was the perpetrator and the mastermind behind it all.”

Lam received 6½ years in jail for the theft charges and 28 months for money laundering, after a one-third reduction in recognition of his timely guilty plea. Six months of the latter term are to be served consecutively, totalling seven years.

Defence counsel said Lam’s wife was unable to attend Tuesday’s sentencing hearing as she was required to stay in Britain for a continuous period of a year to earn permanent residency.

Lam’s mother was already suffering from depression after her husband’s death in 2018, but her condition worsened following the defendant’s arrest, the court was told.

The accused was said to have learned a “bitter lesson” and tried to redeem himself by taking up a nutrition course during his incarceration, knowing he had no chance of returning to the financial industry.

The counsel acknowledged the crime involved a serious breach of trust, but said Lam committed the offences alone and did not try to flee upon being stopped at the airport.

Theft and money laundering are punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years and 14 years, respectively.

Sentencing guidelines by the Court of Appeal stipulate that five to 10 years’ imprisonment applies to cases involving the theft of HK$3 million to HK$15 million by a person in a position of trust.

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