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Jane Moir

Corrupt banker Kevin Lee Kwok-wing has moved to try and quash a six-year jail-term for his part in one of Hong Kong's worst stock market scandals.

His release could thwart any action against other parties - including prominent company chairmen and directors - who offered the former investment banker kickbacks during a four-year graft and fraud spree.

Prosecutors believe Lee holds the key to pursuing the other key players.

The challenge comes on the heels of a similar attempt by ex-Wardley banker Ewan Launder to overturn a corruption charge  - the outcome of the appeal is still pending.

Lee was jailed last August after a jury found him guilty of offering and taking bribes worth HK$46.58 million, as well as conspiring to defraud, which involved profits of HK$4.4 million between 1992 and 1996.

His appeal against the 17 charges is expected to be heard in May.

The conviction was considered to be the tip of the iceberg on the corruption saga, with his sentence topping the four years' jail slapped on former stock exchange chairman Ronald Li Fook-shiu.  Li was put behind bars more than a decade ago for taking bribes in return for approving listings.

In Lee's case a jury agreed that as managing director of Rockefeller (Far East), the Asian arm of the private investment bank with headquarters in New York, he took kickbacks in return for buying shares during placements by four listed companies.

In February 1993, AWT World Transport Holdings boss Alfred Lam King-ko deposited HK$2.1 million into a bank account controlled by Lee after Rockefeller had spent HK$21 million to buy 12 million shares during a placement by AWT.

A month later Lee pocketed HK$4 million from Styland Holdings chairman and major shareholder Kenneth Cheung.

The money was paid in the form of casino cash cheques.

Rockefeller and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) in return bought 24.16 million shares in Styland.

Lee in turn bribed the Asia-Pacific regional manager for GIC, Eddie Taw Cheng-kong, with HK$1 million.

A few years later - in August 1995 - Lee received 3.15 million Pacific Andes International Holdings shares from its managing director Ng Joo-siang after Rockefeller bought nine million of the company's shares in a placement.

The jury also found Lee guilty of pocketing HK$1.37 million from Alexander Chan Fat-leung, managing director and major shareholder of Tem Fat Hing Fung Holdings. Rockefeller had bought shares in Tem Fat Hing Fung during an August 1993 placement.

During mitigation, Lee's defence barrister Lawrence Lok told the Court of First Instance that the banker had paid back HK$47 million of the money he received.

Lee was also found by the jury to be in cahoots with broker Robin Lam, with the pair ramping the share price of Rhine Holdings between September 1995 and March 1996. On four occasions Lee took HK$2.15 million cash in return for Rockefeller buying 20.5 million Rhine shares to help manipulate the price.

The unusual trades sparked Securities and Futures Commission interest and led to a probe by the ICAC.

Lee was subsequently charged in 1998.



Banker in move to quash six-year prison sentence