Hong Kong Banker Sentenced to Four Years Over $470K Crypto Bribes

A former Hong Kong bank manager has been sentenced to four years in prison for accepting over $470,000 in cryptocurrency bribes. Lam Chun-yin, a 32-year-old relationship manager at China Construction Bank (Asia), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to accept advantages in connection with the scheme.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said the bribes were paid in Tether between April and June 2022. In return for the bribes, Lam authenticated false financial documents with a stated value exceeding $1.6 billion. The documents, which included standby letters of credit and collateral letters, falsely claimed to have been issued by China Construction Bank and its related companies.

The ICAC said that neither China Construction Bank nor its related companies had issued the letters or collateral documents. Lam was not authorized to process business credit facilities or letters of credit as part of his role. He worked as a relationship manager in the Consumer Banking Division at CCB (Asia)'s Causeway Bay retail branch.

The court imposed a four-year prison sentence, with Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung stating that the case involved a higher level of criminality than comparable offenses because forged bank documents could undermine Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center. Lam was also ordered to make restitution of approximately HK$3.7 million to CCB (Asia), equivalent to the value of the bribes he received.