CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Birmingham FC owner Yeung pleads not guilty to money laundering

Record ID: 451693

  • Title: CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Birmingham FC owner Yeung pleads not guilty to money laundering
  • Date: 29th April 2013
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (APRIL 29, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BIRMINGHAM CITY FOOTBALL CLUB, CARSON YOUNG, LEAVING COURT ON FIRST DAY OF MONEY LAUNDERING TRIAL CURTAINS DRAWN IN CAR CAR PULLING AWAY PROSECUTION LAWYER, JOHN READING, LEAVING COURT VARIOUS OF WANCHAI DISTRICT COURT
  • Embargoed: 14th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Crime,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA6VGZ4XM8UDW87AER76IXV90RM
  • Story Text: Birmingham City FC owner, Carson Yeung, pleads not guilty on first day of money laundering trial in Hong Kong.


    Birmingham City Football Club owner Carson Yeung pleaded not guilty on Monday (April 29) to charges of laundering more than $93 million U.S. dollars (720 million Hong Kong Dollars) and his defence team sought to have the case thrown out, saying some related documents were no longer available.
    Yeung, dressed in a dark suit and striped tie, appeared calm as he denied five charges, which prosecutors said occurred between 2001 and 2007, of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence.
    Yeung avoided speaking to media as he left the court house on the first day of the trial.
    His lawyer, Graham Harris SC, said some documents that might be crucial to the defendant's case were no longer available, rendering a fair trial impossible.
    Yeung has made several attempts to postpone the trial. It was due to start last November but the hairdresser-turned-tycoon won a delay after his lawyers said more time was needed to gather evidence.
    The hearing comes just days after Hong Kong's banking regulator said it was doubling the size of its anti-money laundering team after two recent court cases drew unwanted attention to financial institutions' compliance and monitoring systems in the city.
    Yeung, who heads Hong Kong-listed Birmingham International Holdings Ltd, was arrested in June 2011. Trading in shares of the English second-tier soccer club's parent have been suspended since Yeung's arrest.
    The company had a market value of 77 million U.S. dollars before the trading suspension.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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