CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Birmingham City Football Club owner Carson Yeung returns to court to fight a money laundering case that involves over HK$720 million

Record ID: 451696

  • Title: CHINA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Birmingham City Football Club owner Carson Yeung returns to court to fight a money laundering case that involves over HK$720 million
  • Date: 7th May 2013
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (MAY 7, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF WANCHAI TOWER, WHERE WANCHAI LAW COURTS ARE HONG KONG FLAG VARIOUS OF SIGN READING: "WANCHAI LAW COURTS" NEXT TO HONG KONG FLAG ENTRANCE TO TOWER CARSON YEUNG LEAVING BUILDING REPORTERS SURROUNDING YEUNG, YEUNG WALKING INTO VAN VAN DRIVING AWAY AND SHUTTING DOOR CAMERA CREWS DEFENSE LAWYER GRAHAM HARRIS (FRONT) AND PROSECUTION LAWYER JOHN READING (IN RED TIE IN STRIPES) LEAVING BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 22nd May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hong Kong, China
  • City:
  • Country: Hong Kong
  • Topics: Crime,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA4UDPGCKXE8B36SDZTS1WCJKPY
  • Story Text: An attempt by the defence of Birmingham City football club owner Carson Yeung to disallow the use of an accountant report as evidence in his money laundering trial was quashed by the judge on Tuesday (May 7).
    His lawyers argued the report was irrelevant, unnecessary, had a prejudicial effect and that evidence should be not be over-complicated.
    However, the judge allowed the report and adjourned the trial until Thursday (May 9).
    Yeung failed to have charges of laundering more than HK$720 million (93 million U.S. dollars)thrown out four days ago after a judge rejected claims that the absence of some documents would make a fair trial impossible.
    The hairdresser-turned-tycoon has denied charges of "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence" between 2001 and 2007.
    The case comes more than a week after Hong Kong's banking regulator said it was doubling the size of its anti-money laundering team to toughen supervision after two court cases drew attention to financial institutions' compliance and monitoring systems in the Asian financial centre.
    Yeung, who heads Hong Kong-listed Birmingham International Holdings Ltd, was arrested in June 2011.
    Trading in shares of the English second-tier football club's parent has since been suspended.
    The company had a market value of 77 million U.S. dollars before the trading suspension.
    Hong Kong's anti-money laundering ordinance came into effect last April, empowering the city's monetary authority to prosecute or discipline banks for ignoring or assisting in money laundering, including fines of up to HK$1 million (128,800 U.S. dollars) and the revocation of licences.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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