Commission Against Corruption, Macao SAR

Following an in-depth investigation and evidence gathering on the corruption case of Ao Man Long, the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works, the Commission Against Corruption of Macao (CCAC) today (14^th) transferred 3 alleged cases of offering bribe and fraud to the Public Prosecutions Office. 13 suspects were involved including a woman surnamed Chan who was wanted by the Interpol and others surnamed Lam, Leong, Ng, Wu, Ngai and Chan. Most of them claimed to be construction businessmen.

The first case involved suspects surnamed Lam, Leong and Wu. They were suspected of having offered bribes in return for advantages in construction projects, land uses and swaps between 2003 and 2006. The case involved 12 projects including a residential building in Avenida de Horta e Costa, 17 villas near Mount Guia, a commercial land parcel at Nam Van Lakes, a residential building on Doca do Lam Mau, a residential land parcel in Rua dos Pescadores as well as land swap proposals for Mong Ha public housing project and for the reclaimed land of Fai Chi Kei¡¦s Pac-van. The alleged bribes include money, a duplex, a shop, a villa and a plot of land for the construction of villas. It was suspected that advantages like duplex, shop and villa were given in the form of promissory agreement. One of the projects involved in the case was a plot of land in Fai Chi Kei that was auctioned off several months ago. It was discovered that a suspect acquired a plot of land in the city centre in early 2006 and plotted with the bribe-receiver in an attempt to swap it for the land in Fai Chi Kei. Meanwhile, the application for the construction project of 17 villas near Mount Guia resulted in objections by various government departments and was suspended after Ao Man Long¡¦s arrest.

The second case involved suspects surnamed Chan and Lam who allegedly offered bribes totaling HK$23 million to secure the granting of public construction projects between 2003 and 2006. The 7 projects involved the sports stadium and new building of Sir Robert Ho Tung Luso-Chinese Primary School, the underground car park at Jardim Vasco da Gama and the redevelopment of Tap Seac Square. The Tap Seac Square project, which exceeded a budget of more than MOP 150 million, involved an alleged bribe of HK$7.6 million. On the public housing project in Ilha Verde, the intended bribe reached about MOP 16 million.

The third case involved suspects surnamed Ng, Ngai and Tang who allegedly offered bribes of HK$8.5 million from 2003 to 2006 to secure the granting of public construction projects including the expansion and redevelopment of the Macao Stadium in Taipa and the second phase of the same project.

Investigation revealed that the bribe-receiver had set up a number of shell companies through different agents and opened many bank accounts in Hong Kong and Europe. The bribes were first deposited into these bank accounts. The briber-receiver then gained control over the shell companies through legal authorization to receive the bribes.

The CCAC has been dedicated to investigating the corruption cases involving Ao Man Long and had gathered valuable information. It is believed that there were more people involved in the cases and it is possible that more cases will be transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office at a later time.