Demand for auditors to examine the books over North Korea allegations The sister of gaming mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun has called on him to make a full and public explanation over allegations the bank he controls in Macau has links with North Korea's illicit fund-raising networks. Winnie Ho Yuen-ki said yesterday her brother should appoint independent auditors to inspect the finances of his company, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM), to resolve any ambiguity following charges made by the United States Department of the Treasury last month. Ms Ho made the appeal in a half-page advertisement published in a number of Chinese-language newspapers yesterday, a tactic she has used before as part of a continuing family feud over her ousting from the STDM board in 2001. Her statement accused Mr Ho of covering up his activities and distracting the public with what she described as his 'cloudy management style'. Ms Ho repeated her claim that she was owed billions of dollars in dividends since leaving STDM. Early last month, the US Treasury issued a report naming the Bank of China and two Macau banks - Mr Ho's Seng Heng Bank and Banco Delta Asia, controlled by Macau legislator Stanley Au Chong-kit - as being under investigation for ties to an illicit funding network for North Korea's nuclear programme. Mr Ho immediately issued a statement denying his bank had any connections with Pyongyang. However, Banco Delta Asia admitted a commercial relationship with North Korean banks and trading firms had existed since the 1970s, prompting a run on the bank. Ms Ho said her brother needed to elaborate on his rebuttal of the charges and appoint independent auditors to ease the concerns of STDM minority shareholders, the Macau government and the public. She said she had been under pressure for several years from Mr Ho to sell her stake in STDM at a bargain price. It is believed her 7 per cent holding in the company has been diluted due to the issue of new shares to three of Mr Ho's daughters.
