Skip to main content
CNN

Hong Kong tycoons among five charged with corruption

By Paul Armstrong, CNN
updated 7:15 AM EDT, Fri July 13, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Thomas and Raymond Kwok among five people charged with a total of eight offenses
  • The billionaire brothers own Sun Hung Kai Properties, Asia's biggest property developer
  • The investigation in Hong Kong focused on land purchases in the city

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Two billionaire brothers who control Asia's biggest property development company have been charged with corruption, anti-bribery officials in Hong Kong said Friday.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) co-chairmen Thomas and Raymond Kwok were among five people charged with a total of eight offenses, including conspiracy to offer advantages to a public servant and misconduct in public office, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement.

Hong Kong's former chief secretary Rafael Hui, banker Francis Kwan and Thomas Chan -- responsible for land acquisitions for SHKP -- were the other men charged after one of the biggest anti-graft probes in the banking hub's history.

Tycoon arrests rock Hong Kong

Hui, the city's former No.2, faces charges related to misconduct in public office, including the acceptance of rent-free apartments and unsecured loans.

All five men were granted bail after a hearing on Friday afternoon, with the court case adjourned until October 12. Hui and Kwan were instructed to surrender their passports.

Tycoon arrests rock Hong Kong
Hong Kong tycoons profess innocence

The ICAC revealed the offenses took place between 2000 and 2009 as investigators probed land sales overseen by Hui involving SHKP.

The case has caused a media frenzy in the city, where real estate is a local obsession. Sun Hung Kai, which helped to build some of the tallest buildings in the city's celebrated skyline, contributed to the Kwok brothers' estimated $18.3 billion fortune.

The brothers, who were arrested in March, have protested their innocence.

"I can say that personally I have done nothing wrong. And I can vouch for Mr. Thomas Kwok that he has done nothing wrong either," Raymond Kwok said at a news conference on April 3, referring to his brother.

"I hope this investigation will clear my name," he said.

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is considered to be one of the world's least corrupt territories. According to Transparency International's 2011 Corruptions Perceptions Index, Hong Kong is the 12th least corrupt territory in the world -- with the United States, by comparison, ranked 24th.

CNN's Andrew Henstock and Tim Schwarz contributed to this report.

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
The Age of China
Check out CNN's latest news, commentary, photos, and videos on our China special section.
updated 11:39 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
NYU did a great favor not only for the Chinese dissident but also for both the U.S. and Chinese governments, writes James Millward.
updated 3:23 AM EDT, Tue June 18, 2013
Triad attacks. Prostitute calling cards. Illicit money flows. This is the dark underbelly of Macau -- the gambling capital of China and the world.
Among the more intriguing pieces of history in Chinese coastal province Fujian are the tulou: large, round, rammed-earth buildings dating back centuries.
updated 6:57 AM EDT, Fri June 14, 2013
Check out these old photos of the hair-raising flight path that required pilots to navigate between densely-packed apartments.
updated 7:30 AM EDT, Tue June 11, 2013
On site at the Gobi desert, CNN's Nic Robertson describes the launch of China's fifth manned spacefligh.
updated 8:59 AM EDT, Tue June 11, 2013
CNN's Nic Robertson gains rare access into China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of the country's fifth and longest manned spaceflight.
updated 8:33 PM EDT, Fri June 7, 2013
Henry Kissinger tells Fareed Zakaria that China's new president Xi Jinping wants a new, more stable relationship with U.S.
updated 6:04 PM EDT, Fri June 7, 2013
Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan steals the show on her trip to the Americas. CNN's Patricia Wu reports.
updated 12:03 AM EDT, Thu June 6, 2013
On the next episode of "On China," host Kristie Lu Stout explores China's stance toward North Korea, premiering June 19.
Share with us your photos and videos of life in China-- the everyday China. The best content could be featured online or on air.
ADVERTISEMENT