CY Leung denies wrongdoing in accepting HK$50m in UGL deal
Pan-dems accuse CE of misleading the public and press for investigation
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he did not feel he had done anything wrong, morally or legally, by accepting HK$50 million in a deal with Australian engineering firm UGL.
Speaking to the media for the first time yesterday since an Australian newspaper revealed last Wednesday how the contract was made in 2011, Leung sidestepped key questions, such as why he did not declare the payment to the Executive Council.
The deal - made two days before Leung resigned from insolvent property firm DTZ, of which he was a director, and completion of the takeover - stipulated the money would be paid in two instalments in 2012 and 2013. UGL and Leung said it was to prevent him from forming or joining a rival firm within two years.
"[Whether] as a member of the Executive Council or chief executive, I have fully followed the [declaration of interest] mechanism [of Exco] to decide whether declaration is necessary," he said.
He said he had not provided any service to UGL and therefore there was no conflict of interest. He also denied tax evasion.
"Because this [income] is to compensate me for not competing with it [UGL] or poaching its staff, under the taxation system of Hong Kong there is no need to pay any tax," he said.