Singapore businessman cleared in HK laundering case
On.cc · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A deputy District Court judge in Hong Kong has found Singapore businessman Chan Kam-shui not guilty of a money-laundering charge over more than RMB402.86 million handled through an HSBC account. The court ruled that the prosecution had not proved the funds were proceeds of corruption by former Sichuan-Chongqing China Tobacco executive Wu Yinglu, and said the defendant's account of a genuine investment could not be ruled out.
Key Points
- Chan Kam-shui, 61, was charged with dealing with RMB402,861,903.43 in an HSBC Hong Kong account between February 21, 2020 and November 29, 2021
- Prosecutors alleged the money came from corruption by former Sichuan-Chongqing China Tobacco general manager Wu Yinglu and was held by Chan on Wu's behalf
- The case centred on shares linked to a company founded by brothers Li Xiaoming and Li Xiaohua, later repurchased in 2019 for more than RMB400 million.
- Deputy District Judge Lee Chi-ho said the court lacked testimony from key figure Wu Yinglu and found no evidence capable of proving the alleged upstream bribery offence
- Chan admitted handling the funds but testified they were proceeds of his own lawful investment, describing due diligence, price negotiations and later distribution of sale proceeds.
Why It Matters
The ruling shows the high evidential threshold Hong Kong prosecutors face in laundering cases tied to alleged corruption outside the city, especially when the alleged predicate offence is not directly proved. For Hong Kong readers, it also underlines how courts scrutinise whether cross-border corporate transactions were nominee arrangements or genuine investments before treating funds in local bank accounts as criminal proceeds.