The government is seeking to confiscate at least part of the record HK$13.1 billion laundered by a young mainland businessman in just over eight months.
The Department of Justice did not specify in the Court of First Instance yesterday the amount it was pursuing from Luo Juncheng, 22.
Luo is serving a 10-1/2-year jail sentence after he was convicted in January for illegal money transfers made via a Chiyu Bank account between August 2009 and April 2010.
Luo, who is from Guangdong, refused to respond to a statement from the Department of Justice seeking the confiscation order, senior public prosecutor Denise Chan Fung-shan told the court yesterday. Luo had been asked to say whether he would challenge or accept the confiscation.
When prosecutors apply for a confiscation order, they submit a statement to the court as well as to the accused.
Appearing in court yesterday without legal representation, Luo told Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping that he did not understand the document, which was in English, and he had also been refused legal aid.
