Hong Kong government freezes assets of media tycoon Jimmy Lai

FILE PHOTO: Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily arrives at West Kowloon Courts to face charges related to an illegal vigil assembly for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in Hong Kong, China October 15, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said on Friday it has frozen assets belonging to jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, in the first use of seizure powers granted to authorities under the national security law.

The assets included all the shares of Next Digital Limited held by Lai, and the property in the local bank accounts of three companies owned by him, according to a government statement issued on behalf of the Security Bureau.

Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison for taking part in unauthorized assemblies during mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.