13 ex-insurance agents in Hong Kong plead guilty in HK$52 million fraud case
Anti-corruption watchdog says former branch manager at FWD Life Insurance orchestrated fraud that relied on false insurance policy applications
A former branch manager of an insurer and 12 ex-insurance agents pleaded guilty on Saturday to conspiring to defraud two insurance companies of HK$52 million (US$6.68 million) by making false policy applications following an investigation by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog.
Lo Yin-wa, a former branch manager of FWD Life Insurance, was named as a mastermind behind the fraud by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
She pleaded guilty to 18 charges of conspiracy to launder criminal proceeds and two charges involving conspiracy to defraud.
Twelve others, aged between 24 and 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to launder criminal proceeds, including seven insurance agents on Lo’s team.
The other defendants are former unit manager at insurer Sun Life Hong Kong Kwok Yun-fong and four agents under her.
The case arose from a complaint made to the anti-corruption watchdog. The agency launched an investigation and said it found Lo had recruited defendants in the case, as well as other people, to join Sun Life or FWD between February 2016 and November 2020.
An ICAC spokesman said Lo had told some of the agents she recruited they were not required to find any clients.