Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog has arrested seven people for alleged corruption in building maintenance projects, including the owner of a contractor firm who concealed his control over a company tasked with overseeing tendering.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it arrested five men and two women, aged from 37 to 75, who were part of a corruption syndicate in the building maintenance industry.

Among them were the chairman of an owners’ board, the proprietor of a maintenance contractor, the directors of a consultancy firm, and a registered inspector.

After investigating a report alleging corruption in the tender exercise for maintenance work at a building in Mong Kok, the ICAC found that the project contractor’s proprietor “allegedly controlled the project consultancy firm through his associates.”

‘Dual role’

According to the ICAC, the proprietor “secured the consultancy contract for the grand maintenance project at a low price, and concealed his dual roles as project contractor and consultant, along with his conflicting interests during the tendering process,” with the intention to induce the owners’ board “to select his company as the project contractor.”

The contractor eventually failed to secure the HK$20 million contract after property owners suspected irregularities in the tender exercise.

The ICAC also suspected the owners’ board chairman of bribery and alleged that the registered inspector, who maintained a full-time job in the finance industry, might not have carried out her duties in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance when signing inspection reports.

The consultancy firm and the contractor also concealed their affiliation in two other maintenance projects currently undergoing tender exercises – one in Tai Hang and another in Sham Shui Po – with contracts worth about HK$6 million.

The watchdog raided the offices of the consultancy firm and the contractor, as well as the suspects’ homes, seizing documents and accounting records related to the maintenance projects.

“The ICAC successfully intercepted these illicit activities and reminded property owners of potential corruption risks during contract awards,” it said.

“As the relevant corruption investigation is ongoing, the ICAC does not rule out further enforcement actions.”

The latest arrests come after the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court brought to light bid-rigging and other illicit practices in the industry.

The watchdog appears to have ramped up anti-corruption arrests in maintenance projects in the months since the fire broke out.

The government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po was undergoing large-scale maintenance work under a mandatory government order when the blaze broke out in November. The inferno – the biggest in Hong Kong in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.