The Hongcouver | Panama Papers expose secret offshore firms of Vancouver developer Michael Ching, wanted by China for graft

Exclusive: Property magnate and would-be refugee, suspected of embezzlement and hiding assets, is identified in leaked documents by his HKID number, connecting him to two now-defunct tax haven companies set up in 1990s

Reading Time:5 minutes

A 1995 fax to Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers leaks, confirms "Ching Mo Yeung" as one of four directors of Asia Charming Development Ltd, a secret investment firm set up in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands. Ching has been identified by the SCMP as Vancouver developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung (right), wanted by China for corruption and hiding assets. Photo: ICIJ / SCMP Picture

Published: 3:15pm, 13 May 2016Updated: 2:36am, 14 May 2016

Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who is wanted by China for corruption and hiding illicit assets, was a director and owner of two secret offshore companies set up in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands in the 1990s, according to leaked financial information obtained by the South China Morning Post this week.

The wealthy businessman - who is fighting for refugee status in Canada and is the son of late disgraced Hebei governor Cheng Weigao – purchased a “ready made” BVI investment company with three other people in 1995, according to documents from the so-called Panama Papers provided by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

He is identifiable both by name, “Ching Mo Yeung”, and his Hong Kong identity card number, which matches that provided by China in a “wanted” notice last year.

The Maylun Building in North Point. A flat in the ageing apartment block, built in 1959, was listed in leaked documents as the address of Michael Ching Mo Yeung from 1995 to 2000. Ching has claimed residency in Canada since 1996. Photo: Edmond So

A directorship list for Asia Charming Development Ltd identifies Ching Mo Yeung by his Hong Kong ID card number. The number matches that of Vancouver developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, aka Cheng Muyang; that number was released by Chinese authorities as they pursued his arrest last year.

Aged 25 at the time, Ching became owner of 48 per cent of the initial shares in Asia Charming Development Ltd and was appointed a director in September 1995, the documents show. He ceased to be a director on July 11, 2000.

He listed his address as an apartment in a nondescript Hong Kong apartment block in North Point, ill-befitting his status as the son of one of China’s most powerful provincial leaders. The same flat in the ageing Maylun Building on Shu Kuk St would later be given as Ching’s address when he took co-ownership of a second BVI firm, Ander Holdings Group Ltd, in 1998 - despite Ching having claimed permanent residency in Canada since 1996.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x