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Former JP Morgan Banker Charged With Bribery in Hong Kong

By Wei Yiyang and Liu Jiefei / May 17, 2019 03:59 PM / Business & Tech

Photo: VCG

Photo: VCG

A former JP Morgan executive faces bribery charges for allegedly offering a job to the son of a logistics company chairman in exchange for favorable treatment by the company during its IPO.

Catherine Leung Kar-cheung, former managing director of JP Morgan Chase's Asia-Pacific securities subsidiary, offered the job to the son in January 2010, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption said Thursday. The offer was intended to secure the bank special consideration when the logistics firm, which was not named, looked for a bank to hire for its listing. It’s unclear when the IPO took place.

There had been no charges against Leung before she left the company in 2015.

This isn’t the first time the bank has been involved in corruption charges. In 2016, JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay $264 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that the bank provided favors including jobs for sons and daughters of foreign government officials to win business in the Asia-Pacific region.

JP Morgan Securities began more than a decade ago to hire candidates referred by its clients or potential clients under a client referral program. Employees at or above the rank of executive director or managing director, such as Leung, were also allowed to refer candidates for the junior posts of analyst or associate, ICAC’s statement said.

ICAC is pressing charges against Leung specifically, instead of the bank, Caixin learned from a person close to the matter, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. The referral program was terminated after the bank settled with the U.S. regulator, the person said.

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