Former HKEX executive and consultant acquitted of corruption charges

Judge Gary Lam rules that consultant Richard Lum and former stock exchange executive Eugene Yeoh are not guilty of charges levelled against them

ICAC brought corruption charges against Lum for paying US$1.18 million in bribes to Yeoh to approve 12 listings between 2015 and 2019

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Richard Lum Chor-wah (centre) leaves the Tsuen Wan Law Courts Building following the not guilty verdict on Friday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 5:46pm, 3 Dec 2021

A former Hong Kong stock exchange executive and a consultant were acquitted on Friday of corruption charges, dealing a blow to the financial regulator’s attempt to crack down on white-collar malfeasance in the world’s fourth-largest capital market.

Judge Gary Lam Kar-yan ruled that financial consultant Richard Lum Chor-wah and Eugene Yeoh Kim-loong, the former co-head of the initial public offering vetting team at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), were not guilty.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged the pair after their investigation found that Lum, 61, had paid a total of HK$9.15 million (US$1.18 million) in bribes to Yeoh, 44, to solicit his support in approving 12 listings between 2015 and 2019. Lum transferred the money to Hao Yuanyan, Yeoh’s wife, the ICAC said.

Both went free following the hearing at the District Court in Tsuen Wan.

Eugene Yeoh Kim-loong, the former co-head of the initial public offering vetting team at HKEX, leaves the Tsuen Wan Law Courts Building on Friday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The duo was arrested in June 2019 and were charged for corruption and offering advantages to a public servant in March last year. Although HKEX is a public company, it also wears a different hat as a frontline regulator for listed companies. Its staff, therefore, are treated as public servants under the city’s anti-corruption law.

Lum was also charged with helping Yeoh get a Hong Kong Jockey Club racing membership in exchange for approvals of new listings.