Lai See | Annells denies reports of investigations

We see that Hong Kong-based tax consultant Deborah Annells, in an updated statement on her company website, claims that "contrary to recent reports in the Hong Kong media" her professional conduct is not being investigated by Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), nor by the British business association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Annells, it will be recalled, is the founder and managing director of AzureTax, and was last month found to have committed six instances of dishonesty by the disciplinary tribunal of Britain's Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and was expelled.

We reported recently that both these organisations had started preliminary enquiries to see if she had a case to answer. If they find there is a case they then commence a disciplinary investigation. STEP will conclude its initial investigation in early September, while the HKICPA is understood to be holding a Professional Conduct Committee meeting next month which will consider her case.

In her latest statement she implies that her staff was at fault for "some actions "which were not in accordance with client instructions".

She claims that: "We have reviewed and overhauled all our internal procedures to ensure similar situations will not reoccur."

However, the CIOT findings clearly relate to her personal dishonesty in her use of trust funds. Furthermore, two of the six charges in which she was found to have acted dishonestly include submitting "two applications to add an Azure service company as a bank signatory to a client company's bank account without the knowledge of their owners".