Advertisement
Advertisement
Carson Yeung
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Carson Yeung was sentenced to six years in jail last March for laundering HK$721 million.

Tycoon Carson Yeung plots business move from his jail cell in Hong Kong

Tycoon calls emergency general meeting of Birmingham International Holdings in same week that court hears appeal against conviction

Carson Yeung
Bryan Harris

Convicted money launderer and former top-flight English soccer club owner Carson Yeung Ka-sing is still making business moves from his maximum-security cell in Stanley Prison.

The Sham Shui Po hairdresser-turned-tycoon - whose appeal against conviction for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars will start in a Hong Kong court on Tuesday - has called an extraordinary general meeting of Birmingham International Holdings, the parent company which owns former English Premier League team Birmingham City, who now play in England's second-tier Championship.

The meeting, announced in newspaper advertisements and which is perfectly legal, could see people close to Yeung - including his common-law partner - become members of the board. The move appears to be timed to coincide with this week's appeal.

Yeung resigned as executive director of Birmingham International Holdings before he was sentenced to six years in jail last March for laundering HK$721 million.

However, he still retains a significant stake in the company and has used his position as a shareholder to unilaterally call the meeting which he could influence from his cell through proxy votes.

According to senior counsel John Reading - who led the prosecution in the high-profile case - the confiscation of Yeung's shares will depend on the outcome of the appeal.

The decision to call an EGM has spooked club fans, who fear Yeung is acting as a shadow director.

"This time last year I was standing outside the Gloucester Road entrance to the District Court, surrounded by a veritable phalanx of reporters who wanted to know what I - as a Birmingham City fan - thought of [Yeung's conviction]," said Daniel Ivery, co-author of , a book on the life and crimes of the jailed tycoon.

"I remember saying that I hoped the club could move forward," he said.

"Despite his conviction, Carson is still - a year later - trying to pull strings to get Birmingham International Holdings to do what he wants."

In a five-page notice published in a Hong Kong newspaper, Yeung said the proposed emergency meeting on Thursday would consider the immediate dismissal of nearly half the board members and their replacement with three new directors.

Among the new individuals are Joanna Wang Man-li, Yeung's common-law partner, as well as the felon's former bodyguard and driver, Arjun Kumar Gurung.

The notice also takes issue with the recent appointment of receivers to help the embattled company get its house in order.

"This is a drastic act that would fundamentally affect the management and interests of the company, and it raises serious concerns as to why shareholders were not informed of such a proposed course of action first," the notice read.

The company appointed professional services firm Ernst and Young last month to run the company because of the "fractious and inharmonious relations within the management".

The move did not mean liquidation, the company said.

The appointment follows a tumultuous few months for the holding firm that saw its shares frozen and allegations that its former compliance officer stole HK$30 million.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Jailed Yeung plots business coup
Post