The recent judgment of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (“CA”) discusses external work-related engagements by employees and the dangers of accepting payments for such engagements without an employer’s permission. It shows the limited scope of the “reasonable excuse” defence when facing bribery charges for accepting secret payments. Recent developments…
International criminals are targeting staff of SMEs and multinational companies with money transfer authority in what the US Federal Bureau of Investigation are calling the “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) scam. Introduction Imagine you are a member of a finance team in a Hong Kong company. You receive an email from…
Hong Kong Snapshot Topic Summary Governing legislation The primary legislation governing corruption is the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201) (“POBO”). Prohibited conduct The POBO prohibits bribery which takes place when a person either offers to another person (an agent/public servant) or an agent or public servant solicits or accepts, without…
Cyber attacks are a growing concern for companies around the world. Hong Kong company directors need to understand the threat, and what steps can be taken to protect their companies against them. Is your company at risk? Any company that stores valuable intellectual property or business secrets, or if they…