A Hong Kong court has sentenced two company directors to jail terms for their part in letter of credit (L/C) frauds.

A 44-year-old man has been imprisoned for 18 months while a 50-year-old woman has been jailed for 24 months.

L/C transactions

In 2007, the two directors of separate companies conspired to deceive two local banks into issuing four L/Cs for the woman who purported to purchase US$4 million worth of polyester trolleys from the man.

After each successful L/C transaction, the man would reimburse a similar amount of money to the woman.

Investigations

But investigators from Hong Kong's Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) found that the transactions did not really exist.

In September 2008, CCB officers arrested the duo. They were subsequently charged with conspiracy to defraud.

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