Two former Standard Chartered Bank managers jailed for HK$28M investment scam
Woo Man-ho and Chan Tak-ching sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding 21 Japanese investors.
Quick Look
Two former Standard Chartered Bank relationship managers in Hong Kong were jailed for three years for swindling HK$28 million from 21 Japanese investors in a fake African development project scam.
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Why It Matters
Defendants ran a transnational investment scam between January 2015 and September 2016.
Two former relationship managers at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong have been jailed for three years for swindling HK$28 million (US$3.6 million) from 21 Japanese investors who believed their money would fund development projects in Africa.
The District Court on Thursday sentenced Woo Man-ho and Chan Tak-ching on a total of four counts of conspiracy to defraud arising from a transnational investment scam between January 2015 and September 2016.
The defendants, both 39, had earlier pleaded guilty to making false representations about the financial capacity of a Hong Kong-based company at the behest of four foreign nationals who are still at large.
Woo and Chan issued four bogus corporate refund promissory notes purporting that Standard Chartered Bank had agreed to guarantee a combined return of US$7.2 million for investors pouring their money into ADF, which stands for African Development Funding.
As a result, 21 Japanese backers were deceived into making investments totalling 405.5 million yen, equivalent to about HK$28 million at the time. One victim lost 171 million yen, which was previously worth around HK$12 million.
Open Questions
- Were the four foreign nationals ever apprehended?
- Has any of the stolen money been recovered?
