HK court backs Macau government in recouping assets of jailed minister

A Hong Kong court has stepped in to help the Macau government recoup assets of jailed former minister Ao Man-long.

In the Court of First Instance yesterday Madam Justice Carlye Chu Fun-ling granted a judgment as part of the confiscation order sought by Macau's government to recover assets Ao and his relatives retained in Hong Kong.

Ao, Macau's former secretary for transport and public works, was jailed for 27 years in January last year on 57 counts of bribe-taking, money laundering, abuse of power and other charges.

A fresh trial will begin on Wednesday at the Court of Final Appeal in Macau after graft-busters in the former Portuguese enclave dug deeper into the corruption scandal and found more bribery suspects.

Cheong U, the head of Macau's Commission Against Corruption, said last year that Ao had made more than HK$800 million in illegal gains, and pledged to pursue Ao's overseas assets.

According to a suit filed by the Macau government in Hong Kong's High Court in July, Ao took more than HK$637 million in kickbacks from construction companies that he approved to build casinos, bridges, public buildings, a sports stadium and other projects.

In a hearing last week, solicitor Jacky Cheung, acting for the Macau government, told Madam Justice Chu that a portion of the assets were believed to be in Hong Kong, with the remainder in Macau and Britain.