Five charged over alleged Tech Voucher shell-company scam
Bastillepost · 4 SOURCES1 day ago6 MIN
Summary
The Independent Commission Against Corruption said it had charged five people after investigating an alleged fraud scheme involving shell companies and applications under the Technology Voucher Programme. The defendants include a 36-year-old technology service provider, three people described as persons in charge of shell companies, and an intermediary, with the case listed for mention at Eastern Magistrates' Courts on Friday afternoon. Prosecutors allege the scheme falsely represented that several companies were eligible for funding, had hired three companies linked to the service provider, and had paid service fees, leading the authorities to approve and disburse grants. The alleged applications in this case involved more than HK$1.6 million, while the wider ICAC probe identified about 470 suspicious applications worth more than HK$100 million and blocked about HK$94 million from being approved or paid out.
Key Points
- The ICAC said it launched Operation "Thunderbolt" earlier this year and dismantled an alleged corrupt syndicate accused of recruiting stooge applicants to set up shell companies.
- The main defendant, technology service provider Kan Cheuk-fong (簡焯匡), 36, faces four conspiracy to defraud charges under common law.
- Four co-defendants each face one conspiracy to defraud charge: shell-company operators Lai Hau-hei, Leung Ngo-hin and Cheung Tun-cheung, plus intermediary Ng Shui-kei.
- The charges allege offences between October 2019 and January 2025 involving the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
- The Technology Voucher Programme offered matching grants of up to three-quarters of project costs, with up to six projects and a cumulative ceiling of HK$600,000 per enterprise.
Why It Matters
The case points to risks in public funding schemes that rely on applicant declarations, vendor arrangements and reimbursement claims, especially where the same service providers appear repeatedly. It also matters for Hong Kong businesses because the ICAC said the wider investigation is continuing and may lead to further charges, while anti-corruption guidance for innovation and technology funding schemes is being prepared