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HONG Kong anti-corruption officers are expected to fly to London this week to assist detectives dealing with the case of a former chief executive of a Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) subsidiary.

  Ewan Quayle Launder, 58, was arrested in London on Friday on charges relating to $45 million in bribes, in the latest twist to the long-running legal saga involving the now defunct Carrian Group.

  Launder, who was stopped at Heathrow Airport by Metropolitan Police on an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrest warrant, appeared in Bow Street court yesterday.

  His arrest came after the release of former Malaysian banker Lorrain Osman, who fought extradition to Hong Kong from Britain for seven years over charges connected with the Carrian affair.

  Mr Osman, who completed two months of a one-year sentence, returned to Britain last month.

  Launder's court appearance is the latest high-profile case connected with the multi-billion-dollar Carrian story which has spanned the world for a decade.

  The former chief executive of Wardley Limited is believed to have been on the run for more than five years. He lived in Spain and East Berlin before moving to the western side of the German city.

  The ICAC will now seek his extradition.

  Last night his wife, speaking from her home in Britain, confirmed Launder had been arrested.

  ''Yes, it's true,'' Mrs Launder said. ''My son has visited him and is on the way back.''   Asked about her estranged husband's activities dating back to the time of the alleged offences, she said: ''I never wanted to know about that.

  ''I don't think I can say any more, I'm sorry.''   The commission has been investigating the alleged multi-million-dollar bribery case since 1987, although a warrant for Launder's arrest was not issued until 1989.

  He worked for the HSBC for more than 10 years and moved to London in 1983 to oversee the expansion of the company.

  He left Wardley a year later to set up his own independent advisory company.

  He is believed to have left England in 1987, although his family still lives in Oxfordshire.

  Launder apparently had not returned to Britain until Friday, his birthday.

  He was stopped by British officials as he went through Heathrow immigration.

  An ICAC statement said Launder was handed over to officers of New Scotland Yard's Extradition Unit.

  ''He will appear at Bow Street magistrates' court, London, today on 14 counts of accepting an advantage as an agent,'' it said.

  ''Extradition proceedings will follow.

  ''Launder's whereabouts have been sought following extensive investigations by the ICAC over a period of six years and spanning three continents.''   Lawyers representing the Hong Kong Government opposed bail when Launder appeared in court yesterday.

  ICAC officers will be sent to London to assist the Metropolitan Police although they will not be able to charge Launder until he returns to Hong Kong.

  For the former bank official to be sent back to the territory to stand trial, Governor Chris Patten will have to sign an extradition order.

  The ICAC statement said the charges against Launder related to the former bank official ''allegedly accepting bribes totalling $45 million in return for granting credit facilities to the Eda and Carrian Group of companies''.

  The Carrian Group, including the publicly listed Carrian Investment Ltd, became Hong Kong's biggest bankruptcy when it collapsed in 1983, leaving debts in excess of US$1 billion (HK$7.75 billion).

  All of the offences allegedly took place between 1982 and 1983, and involved alleged bribes of $12 million from Eda and $33 million from Carrian for ''granting credit facilities'' to the two companies.

  The former chairman of the Eda group, Chung Ching-man, is wanted for questioning in connection with the alleged offences and is believed to be living in Taiwan.

  The Eda group went bankrupt in 1982 following a series of failed multi-million-dollar property investments.

   The Carrian Group followed Eda into bankruptcy the following year for the same reasons.

  Former chairman of the Carrian Group George Tan Soon-gin, 59, is on $50 million bail pending trial in connection with nine counts of conspiracy to defraud Bumiputra Malaysia Finance Ltd (BMFL), and eight counts of offering advantages worth $67.98 million.

  Mr Osman, the former BMFL chairman, pleaded guilty in June to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the Malaysian bank of $292 million involving a loan to Carrian.

  Wardley is a Hong Kong-based unit of HSBC Holdings PLC, and specialises in merchant banking and capital markets activities.



CARRIAN ARREST