On September 18, a Hong Kong court sentenced Lam Chun-ying, a former manager at China Construction Bank (Asia), to four years in prison. He received over $470,000 in USDT for approving fake bank documents, as reported by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The 32-year-old Lam worked with retail clients at the bank's Causeway Bay branch. He was not responsible for corporate loans or letters of credit, and the bank had not authorized him to handle such documents.

Documents Worth $1.6 Billion

Between April and June 2022, Lam collaborated with an employee from fintech company Vesttoo and other participants in the scheme. He impersonated a representative of China Construction Bank responsible for issuing reserve letters of credit for Yu Po Holdings.

In return for compensation, Lam validated counterfeit reserve letters of credit allegedly from CCB and two letters of guarantee on behalf of Yu Po, with a total nominal value exceeding $1.6 billion.

According to ICAC materials from June 2025, 88 fictitious reserve letters of credit were involved. The agency also reported that payments to Lam were made by Vesttoo employee Udi Ginati, intermediary Wan Chuk-lun, and other individuals.

Vesttoo managed a platform for insurance-related transactions, where investors provided bank letters of credit as collateral. If they failed to meet their obligations, the responsibility for payment shifted to the issuing bank. The company is currently out of operation.

The scheme was uncovered during an internal investigation by CCB (Asia). The bank reported the findings to ICAC and assisted in the investigation.

Investigations revealed that neither CCB nor its affiliates had issued the documents in question.

Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hun remarked that the fake bank documents "created a significant potential risk for the organization and harmed Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center." Initially, he set the penalty at six years but reduced it by a third after Lam pleaded guilty.

The court also ordered Lam to reimburse CCB (Asia) approximately 3.7 million HKD (around $472,000). ICAC has requested arrest warrants for other individuals involved in the case.

It is worth noting that in June 2024, two Chinese bankers from Bank of Huludao were charged with laundering $250 million through cryptocurrency.