MPFA raises false-claim warning to up to 14 years’ jail

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) has sharply escalated the penalty warning on its enforcement pages for members who make false statements or use false documents to withdraw MPF early: any person who makes a false or misleading statement or uses a false document may be liable on conviction to imprisonment of up to 14 years. A report published on 17 October noted that the previous wording, which cited Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance penalties of a maximum HK$100,000 fine and one year’s imprisonment on first conviction, has been removed from the pages.

The new warning: up to 14 years’ imprisonment

MPFA’s enforcement measures and penalties page for scheme members now states that any person who makes a false or misleading statement or uses a false document may be liable on conviction to imprisonment up to 14 years, adding that forging or using false documents is a serious criminal offence. The MPF-system enforcement FAQ carries the same warning and reminds members not to be instigated by crime syndicates into making false declarations, to beware unsolicited calls, and not to disclose personal information to unknown third parties.

The old MPFSO penalty figures are gone

The previous wording cited MPFSO penalties: a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and one year’s imprisonment on first conviction, rising to HK$200,000 and two years on subsequent convictions. Those figures no longer appear on either page. MPFA has issued no press release about the wording change, and the pages do not name the offence provision involved.

Where the 14-year maximum comes from

The 14-year maximum matches the penalty for forgery and false-instrument offences under the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200) — making, copying, using or possessing a false instrument with the relevant intent each carries up to 14 years’ imprisonment on conviction on indictment. The cautious reading is that the Authority is warning that false withdrawal claims can attract prosecution under the general criminal law, not that the MPFSO penalties have been legislatively replaced.

Over 100 convictions in five years; one withdrawal per lifetime

The enforcement context is unchanged. When the eMPF Platform receives a withdrawal request on the ground of permanent departure from Hong Kong, it checks whether the member has previously been paid on the same ground, and MPFA runs sample checks. A permanent-departure withdrawal is payable only once in a lifetime — a member who returns, re-enrols and claims again on the same ground commits an offence. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, more than 100 scheme members were convicted of making false declarations for permanent-departure withdrawals; in a June 2020 case, a member was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for a false statutory declaration.