Woman charged by ICAC for bribing bank employee over account opening

A woman charged by the ICAC appeared in the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts for mention this afternoon (January 7) for allegedly offering a bribe of $100 to a bank employee for opening a personal bank account.

Zhang Li, 60, retiree, faces one count of offering an advantage to an agent, contrary to section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

No plea was entered today. Magistrate Mr Gary Chu Man-hon adjourned the case to March 4 for mention and granted the defendant bail.

On the afternoon of January 5, 2026, the defendant visited a branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) in Tai Kok Tsui to open a personal bank account. An employee of HSBC advised the defendant to submit her application via HSBC’s mobile application, but she failed to complete the application.

The charge alleges that the defendant offered a bribe of $100 to the HSBC employee on the same day in exchange for assistance to open a personal bank account with HSBC.

The HSBC employee immediately stopped the defendant and rejected her offer, and reported the matter to her supervisor. The defendant was arrested by the ICAC following the receipt of a corruption complaint.

The ICAC reminds the public not to bribe bank staff in exchange for its services. Should anyone come across any suspicion of corruption, he or she should report to the ICAC immediately. ICAC 24-hour Report Corruption Hotline: 25 266 366.

HSBC has rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.

The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Billy Lai.