Exclusive | Linda Ching, teenage daughter of Chinese corruption suspect Michael Ching, transferred US$1 million to Titanic firm weeks before graft allegations emerged
SCMP INVESTIGATION: Canadian student Linda Ching is helping finance the merger of Nasdaq-listed Premier Exhibitions and Dinoking Tech, in a deal struck just before China’s pursuit of father Michael Ching Mo Yeung was revealed
UPDATE: Michael Ching Mo Yeung has commenced legal proceedings against South China Morning Post in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Mr Ching alleges in his lawsuit that this article contains false and defamatory statements, and that the conduct of South China Morning Post and its reporter was malicious, reprehensible, high-handed, and blameworthy.
The teenage daughter of Chinese corruption suspect Michael Ching Mo Yeung transferred US$1 million (HK$7.75 million) out of Canada and used it to fund the merger of a Nasdaq-listed US firm, an investigation by the South China Morning Post has revealed.
A generically named numbered company set up with student Linda Ching as its sole director made the transfer on April 2 - less than a month before China’s pursuit of her father went public - and the money was invested in Premier Exhibitions, the listed US company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic and a trove of artifacts from the wreck.
Premier executives have failed to respond to the Post’s questions about the deal over the past week and it is not clear whether Premier executives were aware of Linda Ching’s background before the Post informed them. Shareholder approval is required for the public company’s merger.