Former HKEX vice-president charged by ICAC
AM730 · 7 SOURCES39 minutes ago5 MIN
Summary
The Independent Commission Against Corruption has charged former Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing vice-president Tong Po-hang (湯寶衡), 39, with allegedly failing to comply with a court-backed notice requiring a statutory declaration of his personal assets and related information in an ongoing corruption investigation. He was charged on September 9, granted bail and is scheduled to answer the charge at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on September 11. The prosecution alleges that, without reasonable excuse, he failed to provide required information by March 12, 2026 after the filing deadline had been extended at his request to March 2026. The allegedly missing information concerns 30 cash deposits totalling more than HK$2.1 million paid into his bank account.
Key Points
- Tong Po-hang, a former HKEX vice-president aged 39, faces one count of failing to comply with a notice issued under section 14(1) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
- ICAC officers served the notice in late September 2025 during a corruption probe, requiring a statutory declaration covering assets he owned or controlled in the previous three years.
- The filing deadline was extended to March 2026 at the defendant’s request, but the charge alleges non-compliance without reasonable excuse on March 12, 2026.
- Prosecutors say the missing information related to 30 cash deposits, together worth more than HK$2.1 million, that had been paid into his bank account.
- ICAC said the underlying corruption investigation is continuing and that HKEX had provided full assistance during the inquiry.
Why It Matters
The case is about compliance with an investigative disclosure order rather than a substantive corruption charge at this stage, making the court hearing a test of how strictly such anti-corruption powers are enforced in practice. For Hong Kong readers, the immediate next step is the September 11 court appearance, while the wider ICAC corruption investigation remains active.