Read More
Charles Lam Chung-yiu, the former associate director of UBS, was jailed for seven years on Tuesday for withdrawing nearly HK$15 million from the company's account and laundering over HK$10 million between March and December in 2020.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Forty-two-year-old Lam pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and two counts of money laundering as he appeared before Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong in the High Court today.
The theft charge accused him of stealing about US$ 1.87 million (~HK$14.6 million) from UBS between March 13 and December 8, 2020, and the second charge accused him of laundering about HK$1.07 million between March 13 and October 27, 2020.
In sentencing, Yau said the case involved a serious breach of trust and integrity. He also noted that Lam carefully plotted his crime for he had changed his name twice to open new bank accounts.
Lam abused his power to steal compensation UBS paid to its customers, which he then used to selfishly purchase luxury wristwatches and handbags. Lam also used the fake accounts to launder nearly HK$1.1 million, Yau continued.
Lam had resigned before his crime came to light and had also packed all his crime proceeds and had them with him when he was arrested at the airport, Yau also said.
Although the defense claimed Lam wasn’t trying to leave Hong Kong for good, Yau ruled that Lam wanted to enjoy his “fruitful results” with his wife and dog in the UK. The defense went on to say that Lam learned a hard lesson and won’t be able to return to the banking industry in the future.
Yau then sentenced Lam to seven-years imprisonment after giving a one-third reduction, saying that the crime of money laundering involved an international element and the sentence must safeguard the integrity of Hong Kong’s banking system.
The court heard that the compensation scheme was launched by UBS in early 2020, aiming to refund clients who had been overcharged, and Lam was the project manager from December 2019 to October 2020.
UBS in late 2020 found that the paid compensation exceeded the limit and unveiled 20 transactions worth about US$840,000 from the Hong Kong branch as well as 26 transactions worth US$1.04 million from the Singapore branch.
Records by the Immigration Department show that Lam had changed to his name to Yow Wayne and Koh Pang An in February and March 2020 respectively; both are the real names of clients who should have received the compensation.
Five sums were paid to Lam’s accounts under the name of Yow and Koh and the other 41 sums to other retailers for buying luxury items.
Lam changed his name back in October 2020 and had sold 32 wristwatches to obtain over HK$8.73 million. He was arrested at the airport on December 3.
File photo.
