Former Bank Employee Sentenced to 4 Years for Accepting $470,000 in USDT Bribes and Certifying Over $1.6 Billion in Fraudulent Letters of Credit

Former CCB Asia Customer Relationship Manager Sentenced to 4 Years

A local court in Hong Kong has found Lam Chun-yin, a former customer relationship manager at CCB Asia (China Construction Bank (Asia)), guilty of conspiracy for accepting bribes exceeding $470,000 (approximately 74 million yen) in Tether (Tether/USDT).

He was sentenced to 4 years in prison for his involvement in certifying fraudulent financial documents totaling over $1.6 billion (approximately 252 billion yen). The court also ordered him to repay approximately 3.7 million Hong Kong dollars (about 74 million yen) to the bank, equivalent to the amount of the bribe.

Certified Unauthorized Letters of Credit and Received Over $470,000 in USDT

According to the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption), 32-year-old Lam was responsible for individual clients at CCB Asia's Causeway Bay branch at the time of the crime, but he did not have the authority to handle corporate loans or letters of credit.

On the other hand, Vesttoo Limited, which operated an insurance-related investment trading platform, required investors to submit bank-issued standby letters of credit as collateral. After Yu Po Holdings Limited participated as an investor in the platform in early 2022, the criminal organization falsely involved Lam as a contact person from CCB Asia.

From April to June 2022, Lam conspired with department heads and associates at Vesttoo to receive USDT worth over $470,000. In return, he certified multiple fraudulent standby letters of credit that appeared to be issued by CCB Asia, as well as two fraudulent collateral letters purportedly backed by the bank related to Yu Po.

The amounts stated in these documents exceeded a total of $1.6 billion. The indictment published by the ICAC in June 2025 indicated that Lam was involved in 88 fraudulent standby letters of credit and two fraudulent collateral letters.

Discovered During CCB Asia's Internal Investigation, Impact on Hong Kong Financial Market Also Noted

The fraud was uncovered during an internal investigation by CCB Asia, which reported the matter to the ICAC. The investigation confirmed that CCB Asia and its affiliates had not issued the problematic standby letters of credit or collateral letters.

Lam had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to allow an agent to receive benefits. Meanwhile, another conspiracy charge related to the use of forged documents was recorded in court records, but no prosecution was pursued.

Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung initially set a baseline sentence of 6 years but reduced it by one-third, considering the guilty plea, ultimately sentencing him to 4 years in prison.

The judge noted that this crime falls into a serious category among similar cases. He pointed out that the banking and insurance industries play a crucial role in Hong Kong's economy, and mentioned the potential risks associated with the use of forged financial documents and the damage to Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center.

The ICAC stated that the individuals involved attempted to use cryptocurrency to make the bribery harder to detect and has obtained arrest warrants for other related individuals as the investigation continues.