In a picture taken on April 3, 2012, Chairmans and Managing Directors of Sun Hung Kai Properties Raymond Kwok (L) and Thomas Kwok (R) walk towards a press conference in Hong Kong. A corruption case against Hong Kong's two richest property tycoons is a black mark on the city's clean image and could fuel public anger over links between government and business, analysts said. AFP PHOTO / AARON TAM
Hong Kong – Two of Hong Kong’s richest property tycoons were charged with corruption on Friday along with a former senior official, in the biggest graft scandal the regional banking hub has seen, reports said.
Sun Hung Kai Properties co-chairmen Thomas and Raymond Kwok were among five people charged under anti-graft laws and will appear in court later Friday, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
Former chief secretary Rafael Hui was also charged, along with another Sun Hung Kai director, Thomas Chan, and Francis Kwan, former non-executive director of New Environmental Energy Holdings Ltd. media reports said.
Sun Hung Kai was suspended from trading 18 minutes after the market opened, pending the release of a potentially price sensitive announcement, it said in a filing to the stock exchange.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and Sun Hung Kai refused to confirm the reports. No details of the allegations have been made public.
The Kwok brothers and Hui were arrested in March in a case that has sent shockwaves through the Asian financial centre, where cosy links between wealthy tycoons and officials have long raised suspicion.
They appeared at the ICAC office earlier Friday before news of the charges broke. Each of them has denied any wrongdoing.
The Kwoks are among Hong Kong’s richest men and Sun Hung Kai is the city’s biggest property developer by market capitalization, having built some of the southern Chinese territory’s biggest harborside landmarks.
Hui reportedly worked as a consultant for Sun Hung Kai, and is the most senior official ever arrested by the graft watchdog.