Seller accused of bribing real estate agents to avoid paying commissions; prosecuted by ICAC

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) yesterday announced the laying of charges against two property sellers, accusing them of offering a bribe of HKD 30,000 to a real estate agent when selling a residential unit, in an attempt to have the agent waive the HKD 155,000 agency commission owed to the real estate agency.

The defendants, Leung Kei-ming, 48, and Tse Wai-ling, 34, are each charged with offering advantages to an agent, in violation of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. They have been released on bail and are scheduled to appear in the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court tomorrow to respond to the charges.

Leung Kei-ming commissioned Centaline Property to sell a residential unit on Lantau Island at the time of the incident. The real estate agency agreement (commonly known as a “listing agreement”) signed with Centaline Property stipulated that, upon successful transaction, he would pay a 1% commission of the property’s sale price to the agency.

A Centaline real estate agent later successfully identified a potential buyer for the unit and informed the two defendants that the buyer intended to purchase the unit for HKD 15.5 million. According to the signed listing agreement, upon successful transaction, Leung Kei-ming was required to pay the agency a commission of HKD 155,000.

The agent then arranged for the buyer and seller to sign a provisional sale and purchase agreement (provisional agreement) on December 24, 2023.

The charges allege that the two defendants, on December 23, 2023—one day before the scheduled signing of the provisional agreement—offered a bribe of HKD 30,000 to the real estate agent to exempt Centaline Property from charging them the agency commission for the transaction.

The real estate agent refused the bribe and immediately reported the incident to Centaline Property.