Hong Kong Arrests 21 in Renovation Graft Crackdown

The city’s anti-corruption campaign on building renovation came after unsafe materials were found in a residential fire that killed at least 161.

A flock of egrets fly next to burned buildings in the Wang Fuk Court housing complex after a deadly fire in the Tai Po District in Hong Kong on Nov. 30, 2025. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Hong Kong officials arrested 21 people involved in the renovation of two housing estates in an anti-graft crackdown on building construction and maintenance, the city’s anti-corruption agency said on Jan. 2.

The operation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) came after unsafe materials were found in the debris of a residential fire in the Tai Po District that killed at least 161 people in November 2025.