Business Strategies: Don't be corrupt just 'cos times are hard, HK ICAC tells businesses

According to the latest issue of the Commission's electronic newsletter, the ICAC Post, about 50 top managers and professionals were prosecuted by the ICAC for corruption and related offences involving listed companies in the aftermath of the Asian financial turmoil.

ICAC Commissioner Dr Timothy Tong Hin-ming was quoted as noting that judging from ICAC analysis, excessive greed of senior company staff, attempts to conceal irregularities, and insufficient internal control were the major causes for business corruption.

In 2008, the ICAC received a total of 3,377 corruption reports, representing a six per cent drop compared with 3,600 reports in 2007.

Of the graft reports received last year, 65% or 2,188 were related to the private sector, while 28% or 960 were against government departments and 7% or 229 were against public bodies.

Of the private sector complaints, 943 involved the building management sector, taking up the largest share of 43%. The remainder mainly concerned the catering and entertainment industry (7%), the finance and insurance sector (6%), transport services (6%), the construction industry (5%) and the trading sector (4%).

Despite the overall drop in graft reports last year, the ICAC has geared up for a possible surge in corruption complaints arising from the current financial crisis. It has strengthened its capability to investigate complex cases and stepped up efforts to promote good governance amongst enterprises.

In 2008, the Commission's Financial Investigation Section analysed more than 7,000 financial transactions totaling over HKD4.4 milliard , while the Computer Forensics Section carried out over 500 computer data analyses.