An insurance broker and a referrer have been arrested for suspected unlicensed sales to mainland visitors after the first joint operation of the Insurance Authority and the Independent Commission Against Corruption was conducted.
The two authorities searched four premises on Wednesday and Thursday, including the offices of a licensed insurance broker and a referral company.
According to the investigation, the involved companies and individuals were found paying high fees to referrers to incentivize them to advise on and sell insurance policies to customers from mainland China, but such referrers don't have the required licenses to do so legally. In some cases, referrers appear to have been paid over 90 percent of their commission.
The broker and referrer are also suspected of falsifying information in application forms submitted to Hong Kong insurers, such as annual income and the amount of assets held by the mainland clients.
In other news, a property agent who had been sentenced to a two-month jail for falsely representing the height of a unit in a deal four years ago had his appeal rejected by the High Court.
