Hong Kong ex-home secretary Patrick Ho’s arrest came amid US corruption crackdown on individuals
The US Department of Justice began intensifying its focus on individuals suspected of corruption in a pilot programme two years ago
The arrest in the US of former Hong Kong home affairs secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping on bribery charges last month came amid an upswing in cooperation between Washington and other countries trying to crack down on corruption.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) began focusing on individuals suspected of corruption, as opposed to companies, in a pilot programme launched two years ago. Enshrined as government policy last week, the strategic shift towards investigating individuals is meant to convince companies to cooperate in exchange for absolution or more lenient treatment.
Based solely on the US government’s recent enforcement of its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against individuals, Ho’s chances for acquittal are not strong.
Since the DoJ announced its focus on prosecuting individuals in September 2015, the department has charged 34 individuals with FCPA-related offences. More than three-quarters of these cases resulted in a guilty plea or conviction by jury, according to data available on the DoJ’s website.
“The DoJ is placing even more priority and resources on pursuing individuals,” John Buretta, a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and a former senior DoJ official who has handled FCPA investigations, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.