Corruption probe puts heat on Agile Property
Detention of chairman not the first time firm is placed in the spotlight, having been involved in sexual assault and corruption cases previously
Agile Property Holdings is no stranger to scandal, but the detention of its chairman and founder on the mainland amid allegations of corruption has raised the heat on the Guangdong-based developer to unprecedented levels.
Chen Zhuolin has been ordered by the Kunming City People's Procuratorate to stay at a designated residence - a form of house arrest - while investigations continue.
Agile said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday it was not aware of any other information related to Chen's condition.
The detention followed mainland reports that alleged corruption at Agile's projects in Yunnan.
An online report, denied by Agile, raised allegations of money laundering and said former security chief Zhou Yongkang, who is being investigated for graft, had a close relationship with Agile's executive director Chan Cheuk-yin, Chen's youngest brother.
Agile said Chen's wife, Fion Luk Sin-fong, and Chan had been appointed executive directors and acting co-chairmen in Chen's absence - a similar move it made in 2012 when Chen was arrested for alleged sexual assault.