A former Hong Kong businessman is being sued by an arm of the Shenzhen Government for allegedly misappropriating more than C$11 million (HK$59 million) and funnelling the money to Vancouver. The plaintiff, Shenzhen City Luohu District Industrial Development Co, claims Koo Bon, 63, and his family used the money to emigrate and finance a life of luxury in Vancouver. The company is seeking to recover its investment. The partly state-owned firm said the money was intended for investment in a 30-storey commercial and residential tower block in Shenzhen. Mr Koo used the bank accounts of his youngest son, Koo Sze-ming, and the son's common-law wife, Yeung Mei-ying, to illegally transfer millions of dollars to Canada, the plaintiff claims. In his opening statement to Chief Justice Bryan Williams in Vancouver Supreme Court, the plaintiff's lawyer, Ronald Josephson, said Koo Bon 'was the architect and designer of the fraud, conspiracy, conversion and breach of trust that led to this lawsuit. He is the traditional 'rogue' in all of this'. Koo Bon, his first and second wives, who are sisters, two adult sons and Ms Yeung immigrated to Canada in the early 1990s under Ottawa's Immigrant Investor Programme. Those six people, and 12 corporations based in British Columbia with various stakes held by members of Mr Koo's family, are all defendants. They all deny any wrongdoing. Another defendant, Yao Jinsheng, former general manager of the Shenzhen firm, is serving a 12-year jail term in China for fraud and commercial negligence after his conviction in 1997. The Shenzhen authorities issued a warrant for Mr Koo in China, but he is not expected to be extradited. His lawyer said Mr Koo and the plaintiff formed a joint-venture in the early 1990s to build the 88,000 square-metre tower in Shenzhen. It is claimed Mr Koo persuaded the Chinese firm to funnel money into the bank accounts of Kadefu Ltd in China and Hong Kong, which he later transferred into the accounts of his younger son and Ms Yeung. The plaintiff claims Koo Bon and his family emigrated to Canada in 1993 and used the money to buy three homes, expensive cars and shares in nine Vancouver companies. The defendants also allegedly invested in a C$6.8 million hotel project. Mr Koo denies the claims. As trustee for his Chinese partner, he said he received and disbursed funds according to the plaintiff's instructions. 'This defendant did not convert any funds from the plaintiff to his own use or benefit, to the use or benefit of any of the other defendants, or at all,' Mr Koo said. His lawyer, Allan Seckel, said: 'Mr Koo properly spent the money on projects or for the benefit of the plaintiff.'