HONG KONG Trends and Developments Contributed by: Gareth Hughes, Emily Lam, Philip Rohlik and Tiffany Wu, Debevoise & Plimpton
statutory ban on e-cigarette sales came into effect in April 2022. The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Depart - ment of Health played a central role in this operation by assisting with the testing and verification of the seized products through the government laboratory. The operation is a further example of cross-depart - mental collaboration in rigorously investigating and prosecuting bribery of any form and value, as well as strictly enforcing statutory prohibition on the sale of electronic cigarettes. This is also an important remind - er for logistics companies to maintain robust compli - ance controls and conduct active internal monitoring in order to prevent staff from being involved in corrup - tion and bribery. Strengthening international co-operation As the anti-graft body of Hong Kong, the ICAC rec - ognises the value of close collaboration and strategic partnerships with fellow anti-graft counterparts from other jurisdictions. In 2025, the ICAC continued to foster such close collaboration efforts and co-hosted various training programmes and events with other international anti-corruption agencies. In January 2025, the ICAC co-hosted an inaugural capacity building programme on anti-corruption with the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Brunei Darussalam. The four-day training programme aimed to promote a sense of integrity among young people at an interna - tional level and to encourage commitment to develop - ing initiatives in international co-operation. In September 2025, the ICAC, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), hosted a five-day hackathon event, the “Coding4Integrity Hackathon.” This event brought together young participants from 14 Asian countries and regions to design digital solutions to tackling corruption through the use of technology. This marked the first joint project of the ICAC, UNODC and IAACA. It is hoped that the ideas and solutions generated during this event can be shared with anti- corruption agencies across Asia, while also fostering a sense of integrity in young anti-graft advocates.
At the opening ceremony of the tenth Belt and Road Summit, the Commissioner of the ICAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Presi - dent of the Integrity Authority of Hungary in an effort to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing in the fight against corruption. This marks the ninth MoU the ICAC has signed with overseas anti-graft agen - cies since 2024. The purpose of this latest MoU is to strengthen exchanges between the two bodies on anti-corruption experience and know-how through seminars, conferences and/or workshops, joint initia - tives to promote integrity in the public and private sec - tors, and mutual assistance in corruption prevention. The use of AI has not only become an integral part of daily life, but it is also becoming increasingly popular among regulators in Hong Kong for monitoring and enforcement purposes. In October 2025, the ICAC jointly organised and hosted a ten-day professional development programme on using AI and technology in tackling corruption together with the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption, the UNO - DC and its Global Operational Network of Anti-Cor - ruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network). The course was attended by representatives from 22 anti-corruption agencies from 16 jurisdictions. This illustrates the ICAC’s use of AI and other advanced technology to support its anti-graft efforts. Most recently, in October 2025, the ICAC sent a del - egation to South Africa to attend the G20 Anti-Cor - ruption Working Group meeting for the first time. The meeting was attended by over 200 representatives from anti-graft bodies and law enforcement agencies across more than 20 jurisdictions who shared experi - ence and know-how in dealing with the challenges of tacking corruption and explored future co-operation and collaboration opportunities. Looking forward, the ICAC is expected to continue with these initiatives and collaboration, with a view to fostering international anti-corruption co-operation and commitment to sharing and exchanging expertise on issues such as youth engagement and digital anti- corruption strategies with other anti-graft agencies from around the world.
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