Absent Azedo declared bankrupt by court
A former managing partner of accountancy firm Grant Thornton who vanished after allegedly fleecing those close to him out of tens of millions of dollars has been declared bankrupt.
Gabriel Ricardo Dias-Azedo, who is also a former president of Club Lusitano and son of the late Cassiano Ricardo Dias-Azedo, its first life member, has not been heard from since autumn last year.
An application to have Azedo declared bankrupt by his distant cousin Angela Gardner, a toy company trader, was accepted by the Court of First Instance yesterday.
Gardner had entrusted US$9 million to Azedo to invest. She, along with other creditors, discovered last year that he had failed to account for or return their money. She filed a lawsuit against Azedo, and in January was awarded her claim.
Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung said evidence indicated Azedo had probably absconded.
'It appears likely that he has defrauded them and pocketed the funds himself,' the judge said, granting the order in a judgment handed down yesterday.
'There is every indication that he has fled Hong Kong and can no longer be located,' he added.
Also claiming funds are Archie and Betty da Silva, prominent members of the Portuguese community, who placed US$2 million under Azedo's care to set up a trust fund.
The couple, longtime friends of Azedo, were granted their claim in November last year. They had opposed Gardner's petition to have Azedo declared bankrupt, saying Gardner had issued it for an ulterior motive and that the judgment granting her monetary claim had been irregular.
Since Azedo disappeared, numerous lawsuits have arisen, not only against him, but also against Grant Thornton. The da Silvas had named the company in their claim.
China Construction Bank (Asia) is seeking HK$3.48 million from Azedo, an unpaid debt on a loan it granted him in July last year, through another lawsuit.
Efforts to recover funds have reached beyond Hong Kong. The da Silvas have obtained a charging order over one property in London which they say belonged to Azedo, and are currently in dispute over another London property with Azedo's wife, who claims it belongs to her.
In November last year, the da Silvas obtained a ruling that, if undisputed and approved by the court, could have entitled them to get back some of their money through Grant Thornton on the basis that the company owed Azedo HK$5.5 million on his partnership account.
However, a judge ruled against them, saying that Grant Thornton did not owe Azedo anything.
Azedo was also a director of the charitable trust fund Associacao Portuguesa de Soccorros Mutos (Portuguese Association for Mutual Aid).
