MPF agent convicted in HK$4.6m early-withdrawal fraud

A former insurance agent working as an MPF intermediary has been convicted at the District Court over a scheme that helped clients fraudulently withdraw their MPF early — about HK$4.6 million in total — by falsely claiming they were permanently leaving Hong Kong for mainland China. On 22 October the intermediary, Wong Kam-fai, was found guilty of four counts of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of using false instruments. He has been remanded in custody; the case was adjourned to 5 November for mitigation, with sentencing set for 26 November. The ICAC has applied to confiscate his crime proceeds.

Fake relocation claims after switching trustees

According to the facts, Wong was at the material time an insurance agent of FWD Life Insurance (Bermuda) Limited and a registered MPF intermediary. Between July 2021 and November 2022, he helped several clients open MPF accounts with Sun Life Trust Company Limited, transferred their MPF balances there, then told the trustee the clients intended to relocate permanently to mainland China, inducing it to approve their early-withdrawal applications. The ICAC found the clients had never settled in — nor ever intended to settle in — mainland China.

Declarations and employment contracts were forged

The investigation also uncovered false instruments used in some applications, including statutory declarations purportedly signed before a solicitor — who had never supervised any such declaration — and employment contracts with a mainland employer that never hired the clients. The ICAC said Wong charged each client several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars to process the applications.

Six convictions; one client acquitted

Deputy District Judge Wan Shiu-ming convicted Wong of four conspiracy and two false-instrument counts on 22 October, acquitting him of the remaining charges. Three clients — Mak Kwok-pui, Ngan Hon-wai and Li Tsz-kwan, aged 52 to 53 — had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud and three counts of using false instruments in total; Mak admitted conspiring with Wong and others to defraud Sun Life Trust on 16 July 2021. The other client who pleaded not guilty, Ho Yuen-man, was acquitted of both false-instrument counts, the judge saying his account could not be entirely ruled out.

MPFA: unlawful early withdrawals will be punished

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority welcomed the ruling on 22 October, saying it sends a clear message that unlawful early withdrawal of MPF benefits will be sanctioned by law, and strongly condemned intermediaries who induce members to use false documents on “permanent departure from Hong Kong” grounds. The MPFA stressed that both intermediaries and members who are instigated can be prosecuted: under the Crimes Ordinance, forging or using false instruments carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.