Two billionaire businessmen, a former high-ranking civil servant and two other men were charged Friday with bribery in Hong Kong.
This is said to be one the largest corruption scandals in the history of Hong Kong, especially since it is known to have one of the economies in the world that lack corruption.
Raymond and Thomas Kwok, owners of Sun Hung Kai Properties were arrested in March, surprising the city of Hong Kong.
On Friday the two brothers were faced with eight charges of bribery and misconduct granted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (I.C.A.C.).They are also being charged for offering favors to a public servant.
The Kwoks and a few other men allegedly gave Rafael Hui, the former chief secretary of the Hong Kong civil service, access of two aparments and unsecured loans as a pay back to unnamed favors.
Prior to the charges, the Kwoks were some of Hong Kong's most influential and highly-ranked businessmen.
The brothers' company is responsible for building some of the most important and high priced buildings in Hong Kong. However, the scandal has taken the business on a turn for the worse. The company's shares fell significantly by 14 percent since the brothers were arrested in late March.
The corruption is believed to have started in June 2000 and to have ended only a little over three years ago.
The Kwok's other brother, who also used to run San Hung Kai, was arrested in May, but was not charged on Friday.
