Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has charged six people over alleged bribery and fraud involving technology subsidies administered by Cyberport.

According to the ICAC, the case involved at least 400 applications worth about HK$20 million.

The accused include Alice So Nga-lai, 59, then Head of Entrepreneurship at Cyberport, and Viola Lam Yuen-lee, 39, sole proprietor of IT company Find Solution Ai Limited.

So faces one count of accepting advantages as a public servant. Lam is charged with offering advantages to her.

Lam and four others face a conspiracy to defraud charge. They are her brother Paul Lam Kin-ho, the company’s secretary, and three of its vendors.

No pleas were entered and none has been convicted. The six are on bail pending the next hearing on 4 January 2027.

Cyberport ran the secretariat for the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, which helped SMEs adopt digital tools for payments, online sales and customer management. SMEs paid half the cost, with subsidies capped at HK$50,000.

Between October 2023 and January 2026, So managed the scheme’s secretariat work, including reviewing applications and releasing funds.

The ICAC alleges she accepted flight tickets to Thailand and Japan, branded handbags and a smartphone from Lam.

In return, So allegedly limited investigations into complaints against Find Solution and sped up payments on its applications.

The fraud charge alleges Lam and her four co-defendants falsely claimed eligible SMEs had applied, hired Find Solution and paid their share. This allegedly led Cyberport to pay the remaining half to the company.

The ICAC plans to publish a corruption prevention guide for technology funding schemes. Cyberport fully assisted the investigation.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by h9images via Magnific.