The chairman of a former publicly listed company, Firstone International Holdings Limited, has been found guilty by a Hong Kong court for his role in a HK$100 million letter of credit (L/C) fraud.

Firstone chairman Wan Sitt-kam was one of eight people found guilty by the court in a case brought by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Guilty verdicts

The other people found guilty wereWan's wife and director of Firstone,Lee Sau-tong, another director of the same company, Chan Chuen-wing, and Firstone employees, Leo Yee-sang, Ng Pik-yuk, Law Fung-chee and Lee Jen-chiek.

Also found guilty were the formerdirector of a trading company Ho Li-fang, and a proprietor of another trading company; Muk To-wai.

Corruption complaint

Wan was found guilty on 11 counts of conspiracy to defraud, while the remaining defendants were convicted on several counts, depending on their role in the scam.

The case arose from a corruption complaint in connection with Firstone. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed a fraudulent scheme for the defendants to deceive L/C facilities totalling over HK$100 million from a number of banks.

Bogus transactions

The court heard that the applications for the L/C facilities were based on bogus business transactions between February 1994 and December 1997.

Wan Sitt-kam, Lee Sau-tong, Chan Chuen-wing and Leo Yee-sang were remanded in custody while the remaining defendants were granted cash bail.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.