Justice department sued over unpaid bill of HK$6.1m in Carson Yeung case

A consultancy that helped the Department of Justice in its prosecution of businessman Carson Yeung Ka-sing for money laundering is suing the government for service fees of HK$6.1 million, a High Court writ shows.

FTI Consulting (Hong Kong) said the department left unpaid bills dated as far back as a year ago, "despite repeated requests and demands" from the firm.

The bills were for forensic accounting services that the firm provided between October 2012 and November 2013, including checking legal documents, reviewing expert reports and arranging witnesses, at the time when the department was pursuing a high-profile case against Yeung.

The department said it would put forward its defence after reviewing the writ.

"As legal proceedings concerning the case are ongoing, it would not be appropriate for the department to make any further comment," it said yesterday.

Yeung's case ended in March with his conviction for laundering HK$721 million using five accounts at Wing Lung Bank and HSBC from 2001 to 2007. The owner of English soccer club Birmingham City was jailed for six years.