Ex-employee of Birmingham City FC holding company arrested on suspicion of HK$30m theft
Ex-employee took cash, Birmingham International Holdings tells stock exchange
A former financial officer of Birmingham International Holdings - the Hong Kong-listed parent company of English soccer club Birmingham City - has been arrested on suspicion of stealing around HK$30 million.
Jerry Ko, the former colleague of convicted money launderer and former CEO Carson Yeung Ka-sing, was arrested by Hong Kong police on Saturday, but released on bail pending further investigation, according to police and sources close to the matter.
Ko, a certified public accountant, was hired by the company in July 2013 and was responsible "for the financial reporting function of the Group, including compliance with the relevant financial reporting and disclosure requirements", according to a stock exchange filing that year.
The company reported the issue to the stock exchange late on Monday and the case is being investigated by the Wan Chai district crime squad.
The alleged misconduct began in December 2013 and "may have a material impact on the operation and financial situation of the group", the company said in its statement this week.
The claims follow a tumultuous few weeks at a company that has rarely been far from the headlines since Yeung bought his way into English soccer in 2009.
Shareholders at the holding company's AGM on January 6 voted to remove three key board members, including executive director and fan favourite Panos Pavlakis - a decision swiftly reversed by executives loyal to Pavlakis at a meeting the next day.
The company has since announced to the stock exchange that it has received letters from Yeung - still its biggest shareholder - and another large shareholder, U-Continent, seeking to replace three senior executives with individuals close to him, including his former bodyguard and his common-law partner.
Fans of the team fear Yeung is working as a shadow director - a breach of the English Football League's rules on fit-and-proper executives. Yeung is serving a six-year sentence in Stanley Prison for laundering HK$721 million but is expected to appeal.
