HONG KONG Law and Practice Contributed by: Gareth Hughes, Emily Lam, Philip Rohlik and Tiffany Wu, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
2. Bribery and Corruption Elements 2.1 Bribery The term “bribe” is not defined in POBO, nor does it form part of the operative wording of any of the offences under POBO. Instead, POBO generally prohibits the offering, soliciting or acceptance of any “advantage” for the purpose of inducing someone to, or rewarding someone for, doing or not doing an act or showing favour or disfavour. A person offering an advantage commits an offence even if the recipient did not in fact have the ability to deliver the benefit for which the advantage was given, as long as he or she, in offering the advantage, believed or suspected that the recipient had the ability to deliver the benefit. Similarly, a person accepting an advan - tage commits an offence even if he or she did not, in fact, have the ability to deliver the benefit for which the advantage was given, as long as he or she, in accepting the advantage, believed or suspected that the advantage was given for the purpose of securing a benefit. Bribery of Public Officials “Public servants”, as defined in POBO, include prescribed officers, employees of public bodies and non-honorary office holders, as well as other individuals involved in the conduct or manage - ment of the affairs of certain public bodies. Prescribed officers are a class of public servants subject to more stringent requirements. Section 3 of POBO imposes a general prohibition on all prescribed officers, making it an offence for them to solicit or accept any advantage without permission from the chief executive. Contraven - tion of this section does not require any corrupt motive. Prescribed officers include:
sory Policy Manual and the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the Securities and Futures Commission (the “SFC Code of Conduct”), respectively. 1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation One of the ICAC’s missions is public education about corruption. In addition to advertisements, films and other public education materials, the ICAC has published, through the Corruption Pre - vention Advisory Service, a specialised unit in its Corruption Prevention Department, various sector-specific guides and tools for corruption prevention, including the following: • Integrity and Corruption Prevention Guide on Managing Relationship with Public Servants; • Sample Code of Conduct (for Members/ Employees) of Public Bodies; • Good Governance and Internal Control in Public Organizations; • Sample Code of Conduct for Board Members & Staff of NGOs in Social Welfare Sector; • Sample Code of Conduct for the Private Sec - tor; • Corruption Prevention Guide for Banks; • Corruption Prevention Guide for Insurance Companies; and • Corruption Prevention Guide for Construction Industry. 1.4 Recent Key Amendments to National Legislation No key amendments have been made to POBO in 2024.
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