Fifty people have been arrested in a joint operation against a syndicate alleged to be engaged in bribery and bid-rigging for major building maintenance and renovation projects. The arrests, which took in the suspected mastermind and core members of the syndicate, were in relation to 27 projects at housing estates and buildings. They are estimated to be worth approximately HK$500 million in total. In the joint operation by the Competition Commission, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the police on August 26 and 27, project documents and accounting records were also seized in raids on 39 premises, which included the offices of project contractors and consultants. Illegal gambling premises, alleged to be controlled by people with triad backgrounds who were among those nabbed, were also raided. These raids resulted in the arrests of 25 men and 12 women aged between 24 and 62. The operation came following separate investigations carried out by the Competition Commission and the ICAC. The Competition Commission alleged that the syndicate was suspected of engaging in anti-competitive practices, including bid-rigging, market-sharing, price fixing and exchange of competitiv
