Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption charged five people on 16 October 2026 over alleged fraud involving subsidies under the Technology Voucher Scheme.
The case centres on a 36-year-old technology-services supplier, who faces four counts of conspiracy to defraud. Three alleged shell-company operators and an intermediary each face one count.
The charges allege that, from October 2019 to January 2025, companies were falsely presented as eligible for subsidies and as having hired and paid three companies associated with the supplier. The alleged claims were intended to induce the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Productivity Council to approve applications and release funds. The companies seeking subsidies were allegedly set up by the three operators and their relatives, or introduced by the intermediary. The charges cover subsidy amounts exceeding HK$1.6 million.
The charges form part of a wider investigation involving about 470 suspected problematic applications across several technology-service suppliers.
The ICAC said it worked with the two subsidy bodies to stop nearly 90% of the suspected subsidies—HK$94 million—from being paid.
The scheme helped local businesses adopt information technology, offering matching support for up to three-quarters of project costs, subject to a cumulative cap of HK$600,000. It stopped accepting new applications at the end of 2024.