On Tuesday, Sun Hung Kai Properties chairmen Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen report back to the Independent Commission Against Corruption to answer more questions and face possible bribery and misconduct charges, along with former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan - the highest-ranking ex-government official ever to be arrested in the anti-graft agencies' nearly four-decade history .
The return of the three men to the commission's North Point headquarters under the international media spotlight will unfold amid continued speculation over the estranged eldest Kwok brother - Walter Kwok Ping-sheung - and his role in the investigation which has rocked Hong Kong.
Reliable sources have told the South China Morning Post that the ICAC spoke to Walter Kwok, 61, prior to the arrest of his brothers. However, the exact nature, content and timing of the meetings are unclear. Other well-placed sources close to the investigation say the estranged brother was not the catalyst for the arrests.
The two scenarios are not mutually exclusive and one thing is certain: the well-publicised Kwok family split gave fresh impetus into what has been a long-running investigation into Hui.
The Hui inquiry is believed to include allegations of debts linked to him of more than HK$100 million, including an unsecured loan of HK$50 million, and involving alleged ties between the three men stretching back years.
Land deals also form part of the investigation and could be related to the arrest and release on bail last month of Sun Hung Kai executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen, the company's land-acquisition chief . None of those arrested have been charged.
'How could Walter not be spoken to? Omitting him from inquiries would be illogical, not to say a gross dereliction of investigative duty,' said a source with a knowledge of the investigation.