A former manager at Standard Chartered Bank has admitted to helping an illegal syndicate deceive Japanese investors into pouring more than 400 million yen (US$2.7 million) into projects in Africa, following an investigation by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency.

The Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Monday that Leung Ho-yin, a former relationship manager at the bank, had pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

The watchdog first investigated the corruption report and found that Leung, along with his colleagues Woo Man-ho, Chan Tak-ching, and a self-employed financial consultant, Law Man-fai, had conspired to defraud between January 2015 and September 2016.

They did this by issuing false bank documents to trick various Japanese investors into investing in ADF Capital Limited and other companies.

They used false proof of fund letters and corporate refund promissory notes (CRPNs), which were supposedly issued by Standard Chartered Bank and signed by Woo and Chan. However, neither was authorised to sign or issue such documents.

Leung admitted that he had conspired with three others and used four false CRPNs, which promised returns totalling US$7.2 million. This falsely represented that Standard Chartered Bank was the guarantor of ADF, which undertook to pay the relevant investors.

The other conspirators included a Zambian and a Korean man, directors of ADF Capital Limited, a Thai man, who was Chan’s client, and a Japanese woman, who was the chief executive officer of a company.