Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) recently charged Ho Che-chun, a former senior unit manager of the insurance company Sun Life Hong Kong Limited, with laundering of crime proceeds of over $640,000 in relation to the sale of insurance products. The authority has charged Che-chun with five counts of dealing with property known/reasonably believed to represent criminal proceeds. The ICAC began its investigation after receiving a corruption complaint.
Upon the sale of an insurance product, an insurance company provides commissions to the handling agent and their up-line managers. Che-chun, during his time as senior unit manager, had told his team members that to maximize the commissions received by the whole team, Sun Life Hong Kong would pay commissions to the lowest ranking officers in the team, in addition to their basic monthly salary. He further told his team members that they should transfer these commissions to him for handling.
Between October 2017 and January 2018, Che-chun received five transfers of cash, amounting to a total of over $640,000. These transactions represented commissions paid to Chu-chen’s non-participating team members in relation to eight Sun life Hong Kong policies. Chu-chen was allegedly aware or had reasonable grounds to believe that these cash transfers were linked to criminal proceeds.
Source: Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong