Former Hong Kong bourse official charged with bribery relating to IPO
25/03/2020 06:02
HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's anti-corruption
unit said on Wednesday it had charged a former bourse official
with bribery and misconduct regarding an IPO application by
thread manufacturer Shen You Holdings Limited 8377.HK in 2017.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) alleged
in a statement that Eugene Yeoh accepted cash payments from a
consultant as an inducement to view the IPO application
favourably.
At the time, Yeoh was joint-head of the IPO vetting team at
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing 0388.HK , responsible making
sure applications were compliant with listing rules and
endorsing recommendations to the bourse's listing committees
which have the final say. Yeoh left the bourse in May 2019.
Yeoh did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message
seeking comment and contact information for his lawyer could not
be immediately obtained.
A spokesman for the bourse said it "has cooperated fully
with the ICAC in the conduct of its investigation of a former
employee and will continue to do so." He did not name the former
employee.
Shen You Holdings, which has a market value of about $5.2
million, did not immediately respond to an email seeking
comment. A phone number for the company could not immediately be
found.
ICAC alleges in its statement Yeoh concealed or failed to
disclose the transfer of a total sum of HK $9.15 million to his
wife from IPO consultant Richard Lum. The statement said two
payments of HK$2 million were related to Shen You's IPO.
Lum, who was charged with offering an advantage to a public
servant, could not be immediately reached for comment. Contact
information for his lawyer could also not be immediately
obtained.
The anti-corruption unit said in June it had searched the
offices of two firms that sponsor, or lead, IPOs and two listed
companies, and had made three arrests. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23Y0GS
At that time Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission
said it was reviewing the manner in which the exchange dealt
with listing.
(Reporting by Alun John; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok;
Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((Alun.John@thomsonreuters.com; +852-28415827;))