HK duo arrested for allegedly bribing Wynn Macau executive

TWO air-conditioning maintenance personnel were charged by a Hong Kong law-enforcement entity May 13 on allegations of offering bribes to a Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. executive.

The Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) announced in a press release that an employee and a former director of two air-conditioning maintenance companies, were charged with offering bribes totaling about HKD1.5 million to a former director of the casino concessionaire for air-conditioning maintenance contracts of one of its hotels.

The contract involved around HKD22 million.

The alleged offences took place between June 2014 and January 2017. ICAC inquiries revealed that during the period, Wynn had awarded around 70 air-conditioning maintenance contracts worth around HKD22 million to a company involved, Oh Luen Air-conditioning Equipment Limited.

Both suspects are Hong Kong residents.

According to the ICAC, Li Kin-wang, 58 years old, senior sales manager of Oh Luen, faces seven counts of offering advantage to an agent.

Meanwhile, Li and Woo Tak-hoi,

55 years old, then director of Wai Luen Air-conditioning Limited, jointly face two counts of conspiracy to offer advantages to an agent.

Both acts are criminal offences in Hong Kong, according to the ICAC.

The defendants were released on ICAC bail. They will be heard in a court of law this Thursday before the case is transferred to the District Court, the ICAC explained.

At the material time, Oh Luen and Wai Luen were companies respectively established in Macau and Hong Kong for providing air-conditioning installation and maintenance services to customers. Both companies were operated by the same proprietor.

Since 2013, Oh Luen had been an approved supplier of Wynn.

Seven of the charges allege that Li, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, offered seven bribes totaling over HKD930,000 to a then director of Wynn as an inducement to or reward for the latter to receive and consider quotations or tenders submitted by Oh Luen to Wynn in relation to air-conditioning system maintenance services.

The remaining two charges allege that Li and Woo, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, conspired together to offer two bribes totaling HKD560,000 to the above then director of Wynn for the same purpose.

The ICAC investigation arose from a corruption complaint.

The relevant corruption investigation is continuing.

After the ICAC thanked the local Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) and Wynn for their full assistance in the investigations, the CCAC disclosed in a statement that it received several corruption complaints about the aforementioned case in November 2018.

In February 2019, the CCAC officially received requests for assistance from the ICAC.

The CCAC added that the Wynn executive mentioned above was also a Hong Kong resident and was hired by Wynn to work in Macau in 2007.

However, the CCAC did not disclose whether the Wynn executive had been arrested.