Hong Kong’s corruption and antitrust watchdogs arrest 20 suspects over building maintenance project bid-rigging
“The joint operation conducted by the ICAC and the Competition Commission demonstrated the determination of the two agencies in cracking down on corruption and potential anticompetitive activities in building maintenance,” the agencies said.
The suspects had allegedly taken part in corruption and anticompetitive practices to manipulate bidding processes for building maintenance work, exaggerating contract amounts and helping associated contractors to secure the projects and consultancy jobs.
They were also said to have manipulated project supervision and payment releases, contravening the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and the Competition Ordinance.
During the course of the operation, certain individuals had refused to provide relevant information. The commission will follow up on the obstruction of its investigative powers, which is a crime under Sections 52 and 54 of the Competition Ordinance.
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The antitrust watchdog said it had exercised its investigative powers during the operation. Other than searching premises with court warrants, relevant parties were required to submit documents and information, but some individuals had refused to provide requested details.
The operation involved renovation projects at two residential estates and mixed-use buildings on Hong Kong Island, as well as four residential estates and industrial buildings in the New Territories.
Individual contracts were worth between several million to tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, for a total of about HK$180 million (US$22.98 million).
The spokesmen said bribe payments for individual projects amounted to over HK$1 million.
Half of the renovation projects were yet to be awarded, while work for the remaining projects launched before the investigation began.
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The investigators said they believed the syndicate had been taken out of action, but further enforcement action was possible as the inquiry continued.
The investigations arose from a corruption complaint lodged with the ICAC by members of the public.
The ICAC called on property owners and the public to report suspected corruption to its hotline at 2526 6366.