Six men and two women have been arrested on suspicion of attempting to defraud the government out of HK$8.24 million in potential subsidies through the use of shell companies.

The eight are alleged to have attempted to fraudulently claim millions between August 2022 and December 2024 in subsidies given out under the Innovation and Technology Fund's New Industrialisation and Technology Training Scheme, which subsidises high-tech training carried out by local companies.

The Vocational Training Council conducted a sudden inspection in 2024 in which suspicious activity was detected.

Sham Shui Po district crime squad senior inspector Wan Tin-sing said HK$640,000 in subsidies was handed out before the fraud came to light.

"The police worked closely with the Vocational Training Council to identify the companies registered under the New Industrialisation and Technology Training programme," he said.

"Twelve companies and courses they were offering were stopped, successfully preventing this criminal grouping from receiving approximately HK$7.6 million.

"Six men and two women, aged between 33 and 78, were arrested in Kwai Tsing, Sham Shui Po, Central and Lantau districts from January 6 to 8.

"One man is currently being detained for investigation while the others have been released on bail."

Officers seized company seals, cheque books and 11 computers suspected of containing materials related to the shell companies used to carry out the fraud.