The Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a short statement last night that no one has been arrested in Macau in connection with a fraud case jointly announced by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in a statement on Wednesday, according to which the two Hong Kong entities and the Macau Judiciary Police jointly launched a law enforcement operation, in the two cities respectively, earlier this week when seven were arrested in Hong Kong, including top executives of a listed company.
The PJ statement also said that the Judiciary Police have launched an investigation into the case, adding that “for the time being [the Judiciary Police] have no further information to announce”.
The ICAC-SFC joint statement on Wednesday said that the ICAC, the SFC and Macau’s Judiciary Police jointly mounted an operation code-named “Demarcation” on Monday and Tuesday against suspected cross-border fraud and misconduct in a listed company in Hong Kong, senior executives of which were allegedly involved in fictitious transactions and false accounting totalling around HK$120 million, the statement said.
According to the statement, six premises were jointly searched by the ICAC and the SFC. During the joint operation, the ICAC arrested seven people, including the chairman and an executive director of the listed company.
The ICAC-SFC joint statement did not identify the listed company.
According to the statement, the findings of the ICAC-SFC joint investigation showed that the chairman of the listed company and other individuals had allegedly falsified business documents and accounting records of the company’s subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Macau so that the company’s trade receivables were reduced by around 113 million patacas (HK$110 million).
In addition, the statement said, the individuals concerned had also allegedly used false documents and accounting records to conceal the misappropriation of the company’s funds of over HK$9 million.
The ICAC-SFC statement said that as cross-border crimes were involved in the case, Macau’s Judiciary Police have also launched an investigation into the relevant individuals’ suspected fraud crimes which took place in Macau.
Simultaneous to the ICAC operation earlier this week, the statement said, Macau’s Judiciary Police launched their law enforcement operation in Macau where they searched related premises and questioned the individuals concerned.
The statement also said that “as the investigation is ongoing, no further comment will be made by the ICAC and the SFC”.
The statement quoted ICAC Deputy Commissioner and Head of Operations Ricky Yau Shu-chun as saying that “the joint operation fully demonstrates the close collaboration and determination of the two cities’ law enforcement agencies in tackling cross-border corruption and other crimes to maintain a clean and fair business environment and effective operation of the financial market. The ICAC will continue to work with the SFC and other law enforcement agencies to curb corruption and other illegal activities and bring local and cross-border criminals to justice”.
The statement also quoted SFC Executive Director of Enforcement Christopher Wilson as saying that “the SFC has zero tolerance when it comes to misconduct undermining the orderliness of the market and misconduct by management of listed companies. The joint action demonstrates the determination of law enforcement agencies in both jurisdictions to combat cross-border illegal activities involving listed companies. The SFC will continue to work closely with the ICAC and other local and non-local law enforcement agencies to maintain market integrity and safeguard the interests of investors”.
According to reports by the local Portuguese-language channel of public broadcaster TDM and other Macau media as well as Hong Kong media, the listed company involved in the case is a firm providing decoration and repair and maintenance services for various businesses and facilities in Hong Kong and Macau. A TDM Portuguese-language report yesterday said that Macau lawmaker-cum-civil engineer Wu Chou Kit and Macanese community leader Rita Santos are two of the company’s non-executive directors. Rita Santos told the TDM Portuguese-language channel that she did not know anything about the case, while TDM said that it could not contact Wu yesterday about the matter.
This undated photo downloaded from the website of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) yesterday shows its headquarters in North Point.
