The District Court convicted an insurance agent of four counts of conspiracy to defraud and two of using false documents in applications for early MPF withdrawals. He was remanded pending sentence. A further charge was withdrawn after the judge ruled the evidence did not establish a case to answer.
The court found that the applications falsely claimed clients intended to settle permanently in mainland China and leave Hong Kong. They were supported by false mainland tenancy and employment agreements and statutory declarations that appeared to have been signed before a lawyer. The clients had no intention of settling there, the court found. The case involved about HK$4.6 million, Ming Pao reported.
The judge rejected the agent’s account that a former assistant had handled the applications. The agent could not provide the assistant’s full name, basic identifying or contact details, or any communications with him. The judge concluded that the assistant did not exist.
A client tried alongside the agent was acquitted of both charges against him. The judge described the client’s advance payment and completion of only part of a declaration as suspicious, but said they did not prove he knew false documents would be used to apply on his behalf.