HONG KONG, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court sentenced two former ICBC (Asia) executives to jail on Wednesday for accepting bribes in exchange for helping a client apply for loans and extending repayment periods, Hong Kong's graft-buster said.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement that Derick Chan, former head of the corporate banking department of Industrial Bank of China (Asia) Ltd, received a jail term of two years.
Chan Yick-yiu, former head of real estate and finance at the bank, was jailed for three years.
"The accused bank officers, however, ought to know they should not have accepted the bribes which could deal a blow to the integrity of the bank and trust in bankers regardless of the bribe amount," said district court deputy judge Shum Siu Man.
ICBC Asia is a unit of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , the world's biggest bank by market value.
Derick Chan, 51, and direct supervisor of Chan Yick-yiu, pleaded guilty to accepting HK${esc.dollar}3.3 million in bribes between August 2009 and October 2010 from corporate client Zeng Wei, ICAC said.
The money was a reward for assisting Zeng's application for a HK${esc.dollar}2 billion loan and extending repayment dates for two previous loans totalling about HK${esc.dollar}700 million.
Zeng is involved in developing properties and operating hotels and golf courses. Zeng also operated Kostar Investment Ltd and Shine City International Ltd.
Chan Yick Yiu, 44, was found guilty of accepting HK${esc.dollar}2.5 million in cash, five bottles of red wine worth HK${esc.dollar}14,500 and a watch worth HK${esc.dollar}33,000 from Zeng.
ICAC said Zeng, 48, failed to turn up on July 4 for a trial on three counts of offering bribes to the two executives. The district court has issued a warrant for his arrest.
(${esc.dollar}1 = 7.797 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Viola Ho and Alison Leung; Editing by Ed Lane)
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