Hong Kong legal fight heating up over Mugabe luxury villa in New Territories
Zimbabwe government says Tai Po home that housed first daughter belongs to it, while businessman who procured it argues it is his
The legal battle between the government of Zimbabwe and a businessman from South Africa for ownership of a Tai Po luxury home in the New Territories will begin in earnest next month.
The three-storey house in question, an upmarket villa at JC Castle along Shan Tong Road, was reportedly bought through a Taiwanese-born South African citizen named Hsieh Ping-sung for HK$40 million in June 2008.
Media reports suggested the house was bought months before Bona Mugabe, the daughter of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe began studies at the University of Hong Kong.
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that the Mugabes claimed the villa belonged to the Zimbabwe government and their daughter had been "borrowing" it, but that has now been challenged by Hsieh, also known as Jack Ping, a businessman who used to be one of the Mugabes' closest friends and advisers. He claims the house belonged to him all along.
The Zimbabwean government, led by President Mugabe, is suing Hsieh and his property company, Cross Global.
The case is due to go to mediation in Hong Kong on Friday, The Telegraph reported. If the parties can't come to an agreement outside of court, the High Court is scheduled to hear the case on June 11, according to a filing.
The Zimbabwean government wants the court to declare that it is the "100 per cent beneficial" owner of the villa bought by Cross Global about seven years ago. It says Cross Global only held it on trust, and it wants the court to order the company and Hsieh to transfer the property to it.