The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a dedicated anti-corruption agency independent of the Civil Service. Its Commissioner is directly accountable to the Chief Executive of the HKSAR.

    During the year, the ICAC continued to bring corruption effectively into check through its three-pronged strategy of investigation, prevention and community education. Besides strict law enforcement, the commission endeavours to fortify a culture of probity and provides tailor-made corruption prevention advice to both the public and private sectors.

    During the year, the commission initiated anti-corruption programmes for various quarters of the community, including the financial, insurance sectors and the Civil Service, as part of its efforts to maintain a clean society and a level playing field for doing business in Hong Kong.

Corruption Situation

In 2002, the ICAC received 4 371 corruption reports (excluding election-related complaints), a slight decline of 2 per cent over the previous year. Of these, 1 638 were made against government departments, up from 1 587 in 2001. There were 2 403 and 330 reports concerning the private sector and public bodies respectively, compared with 2 542 and 347 in 2001. Pursuable reports accounted for 74 per cent of the total.

Investigation

In 2002, the Operations Department — the ICAC's investigative arm — continued to pursue a proactive strategy in unearthing corruption cases. It maintained close ties with the disciplined services through Operational Liaison Groups. Liaison channels were also in place with other government departments, regulatory bodies and key industries for joint actions against corruption.

    The level of corruption reports remained high partly due to the prolonged economic downturn. Nonetheless, the upward trend had appeared to level off. The department continued to be unremitting in its efforts to make corruption a high-risk crime.

    Major cases detected during the year ranged from letter of credit fraud, investment and bank frauds, contract and tendering malpractice, fraudulent insurance claims and money laundering to misconduct in public office and corruption allegations involving civil servants.

    During the year, 604 persons were prosecuted and 116 cautioned in accordance with advice given by the Department of Justice. The Operations Department's case-load stood at 1 473 at year-end, and a growing number of these cases featured a more sophisticated and complex modus operandi.

Prevention

The Corruption Prevention Department examines the practices and procedures of government departments and public bodies to identify corruption loopholes, and recommends measures to reduce the opportunities for malpractice.

    During the year, the department completed 105 detailed studies into corruption prone areas, including purchasing and tendering, management of government funds, contract administration, law enforcement, licensing and registration systems. Priority was given, and expeditious advice rendered as necessary, to problem areas revealed in cases investigated by the Operations Department to ensure that loopholes being exploited could be promptly plugged.

    The department also provided prompt corruption prevention advice, through 288 consultation exercises, to government departments and public bodies when new legislation, procedures or policies were being formulated. The department also assisted public bodies listed under the anti-graft law to draw up or to review their staff codes of conduct.

    For the private sector, the department provided free and confidential corruption prevention advice to various organisations on 334 occasions, to assist them in enhancing their internal control systems and promulgating staff codes of conduct.

    The department continued to produce Best Practice Packages which have proved to be effective tools for different organisations to establish anti-corruption systems. Packages concerning the management of government funds and direct purchases by government departments were produced during the year.

Community Education

The Community Relations Department is tasked to educate the public on the evils of corruption and enlist the community's support in the fight against it. Community education efforts were launched through the use of the mass media and liaison activities conducted by a network of eight Regional Offices.

    Maintaining a clean civil service remained a top priority for the department. Under the Civil Service Integrity Programme, 67 departments had drawn up or reviewed their departmental guidelines. In addition, 1 016 corruption prevention talks were given for over 25 000 staff from 51 departments. To further promote integrity management in the public and private sectors, the department jointly organised with the Civil Service Bureau the 'Leadership Forum 2002 — Ethical Challenges for Business and Government Leaders', in December.

    To sharpen Hong Kong's competitive edge as an international tourist destination, the department has joined hands with six tourism-related organisations to embark on an ethics promotion programme. A key feature of the programme will be a trade-wide conference to be held in March 2003 for practitioners to exchange views on corruption prevention.

    As an ongoing mission to promote ethical practices in individual industries, the department has secured the support of the insurance regulatory body in incorporating an ICAC training course as a core subject in the Continuous Professional Development Programme for insurance intermediaries. More than 16 training seminars for over 12 173 insurance intermediaries were conducted during the year.

    In youth education, the department continued to cultivate positive values among young people through the mass media and the Internet, in addition to direct contacts through classroom talks and interactive activities. A new initiative during the year was the launch of the ICAC moral education website to provide online teaching materials suitable for use by teachers, from kindergarten to secondary school level. In June, the department launched a 'Corporate Governance for the New Generation' Study Programme cum Youth Summit in conjunction with various youth organisations and universities. The programme, consisting of a Study Programme and a series of training workshops, will conclude with a Youth Summit to be held in March 2003.

    To reinforce the culture of probity in the community, the department launched a 'Community Integrity Programme' in September with the support of the 18 District Councils and more than 150 district organisations. Over 200 activities were being organised region-wide from September to March.

International Cooperation

During the year, the ICAC received a total of 390 visitors from law enforcement agencies and other organisations in various countries.

    ICAC officers also attended overseas conferences and forums including the First Korean ICAC Forum on Anti-corruption in Seoul and an Interpol Meeting on Banking in Saudi Arabia. Directorate officers regularly met the attaches of major overseas law enforcement agencies stationed in Hong Kong to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Cross-boundary Liaison

Cooperation between the ICAC and the Mainland anti-corruption authorities has become increasingly important with growing social and economic ties with the Mainland. In 2002, an ICAC delegation led by the Commissioner visited the anti-corruption agencies in Beijing and Guangzhou to exchange views and experience in investigation and preventive education work.

    The Mutual Case Assistance Scheme established to enable the ICAC and the Mainland's procuratorial authorities to assist each other in interviewing witnesses in corruption investigations continued to operate efficiently. Under the scheme, ICAC investigators visited the Mainland on 26 occasions to meet voluntary witnesses while Mainland officers were assisted on 67 occasions in Hong Kong during the year. In addition, the Community Relations Department conducted talks for about 8 800 Mainland officials visiting Hong Kong.

Checks and Balances

The operation of the ICAC is subject to a stringent system of checks and balances.

    Apart from judicial supervision, the commission's work is scrutinised by four advisory committees — the Advisory Committee on Corruption, the Operations Review Committee, the Corruption Prevention Advisory Committee and the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations.

    An independent ICAC Complaints Committee, which comprises members of the Legislative Council and other prominent citizens, monitors the handling of complaints against the ICAC and its officers. The ICAC also has an internal investigation group that oversees the conduct of its officers and investigates complaints made against them.