Tony Chan's HK$130m legal setback
Self-styled fung shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen will need to sell or mortgage his Mid-Levels land in order to raise HK$130 million in legal fees for his failed bid to take over the business empire of late billionaire Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, a court heard yesterday.
Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, of the Court of First Instance, dismissed Chan's application to quash an injunction freezing his assets and ordered him to disclose all assets valued above HK$100,000 by February 23. Chan is estimated to have assets worth HK$511 million.
Accountants Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the temporary administrator of the Wang estate, secured a temporary injunction in December to freeze enough of Chan's assets to settle the massive legal bill.
Chan (pictured) was not in court. But he said later he said he did not want to disclose his assets out of privacy concerns. 'I do not have other purposes, or a specific reason not to disclose my assets.' he said.
In October, Chan lost his lawsuit against the Chinachem Charitable Foundation over control of Wang's HK$50 billion estate. Wang, the late chairwoman of Chinachem and once Asia's richest woman, died of cancer in 2007, aged 69.
The court was told HSBC and Bank of East Asia were now processing Chan's application to sell or mortgage his land at 16 Bowen Road, with an estimated value of $480 million.
If the land was mortgaged, he could get HK$180 million.
Chan said the banks had not told him there was any problem with his application.
But he refused to say why he needed to sell or mortgage the land, as he told media he did not need to do so last month.
'I can only tell after discussions with my lawyers. I am not responsible for this kind of financial arrangement,' he said.
He said his assets totalled more than HK$500 million and could cover the HK$130 million legal fees.
'I do not have any loans. Even when I do business, I seldom borrow money,' he said.
Chan still owns at least six properties in Hong Kong, according to the land registry. Market sources estimated that the properties are worth between HK$511 million and HK$536 million. He said he owned 10.85 per cent of shares in Hong Kong-listed RCG Holdings, worth about HK$53 million at yesterday's closing price.
Chan had claimed Wang left him her fortune in a 2006 will, and showed videos of them together in an attempt to prove the depth of their relationship.
The court ruled the 2006 document was a fake, and that an earlier will held by the foundation was genuine. Chan has been charged with forgery and using a false document.
He is next scheduled to attend court on April 17 and May 14 for hearings in the case. He is on bail.
