Lawmaker wants British regulator to probe CY Leung's HK$50 million deal with Australian company
Listing Authority could become third body to investigate after letter from Kenneth Leung
A Hong Kong lawmaker will file a request for a British regulator to look into Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's HK$50 million deal with an Australian company.
A tax issue has also emerged, with accountants saying Leung should pay profits tax for the HK$50 million received from Australian engineering firm UGL.
Kenneth Leung, the legislator who represents accountants, said he had drafted a letter to the UK Listing Authority (UKLA). "I hope the Listing Authority can look into the matter in the interests of transparency and compliance," he said yesterday.
On Wednesday, a Fairfax Media report said the chief executive pocketed HK$50 million from UGL six months before he took the city's top job. UGL bought the insolvent DTZ Holdings for £77.5 million in late 2011. The property service firm was listed in London and had Leung as a director.
A side deal arose from the purchase two days before Leung resigned from DTZ. It stipulated he would receive £4 million (HK$50 million) in 2012 and 2013.
UGL and Leung both said the money was to prevent him from joining or forming a rival firm within two years. But the deal also contained an "additional commitment" by which Leung agreed to "[act] as a referee and an adviser from time to time".