Stacy Shi

Google has removed financial disinformation about former chief executive Leung Chun-ying and other officials from its system after Leung lodged a complaint in person at the tech giant's Hong Kong office.

He accused Google of conspiring with criminal syndicates.

In a Facebook post, Leung revealed he had visited the company's branch in Causeway Bay and, in a teleconference, spoke with William Farris, Google's Taiwan-based managing counsel for greater China, who vowed to remove the ads.

Leung said he spoke to Farris for 20 minutes.

"Google placed advertisements for a fraudulent syndicate on major Hong Kong media outlets, claiming that former and current officials, including me, were making a fortune investing in Bitcoin futures," Leung said in his post.

"The ads were attached with links that tricked investors into providing personal information, including credit card numbers."

A fraudulent advertisement with the name and news pictures of Leung circulated online earlier, claiming that Leung was making quick money through Bitcoin futures and providing a link to it.

Leung clarified on Facebook last week that he has never invested in Bitcoin futures and would never recommend it.

He then made a complaint at the Google headquarters in Hong Kong at Times Square in Causeway Bay.

"I asked Google to stop conspiring with criminal syndicates and take down all these fraudulent ads immediately. I then reported to police and requested the syndicate and its accomplices be brought to justice," he said.

Leung added victims of relative frauds can contact him or the police to seek compensation.

It is understood the advertisement is from a phishing website about celebrities sharing investment tips and enticing netizens to download its app.

Notable figures mentioned include artists Alan Tam Wing-lun and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, as well as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki.

Leung Chun-ying brings the fraudulent Bitcoin futures advertisements, above and left, to Google's attention.

CY does bit to stop Google fraud ads