Hong Kong Polytechnic University not required to disclose British Virgin Islands ventures, says funding body
PolyU omitted two offshore subsidiaries from its financial reports
The official academic funding body has confirmed there is no requirement for Polytechnic University to report its secretive British Virgin Islands-based subsidiaries, calling into question the level of supervision over business activities carried out by institutions set up primarily for educational purposes.
PolyU ... is not required to report to the UGC on its activities in relation to establishment of other corporate bodies, such as the two mentioned companies
Amid criticism that PolyU omitted the two BVI firms from its financial reports over the years, the University Grants Committee said it followed “generally accepted accounting standards.”
It added that the two firms set up under the watch of former PolyU executive vice-president Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung – now Hong Kong’s secretary for innovation and technology – did not involve taxpayers’ money.
The committee broke its silence two days after the Post reported on PolyU’s offshore companies set up in 2012 and 2013 that came to light in the so-called Panama Papers leaks.
“PolyU ... is not required to report to the UGC on its activities in relation to establishment of other corporate bodies, such as the two mentioned companies,” the committee said.
Labour Party legislator and PolyU academic Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung criticised the statement, saying it effectively meant allowing the university to turn itself into an “independent kingdom”.
“As a publicly funded institution, PolyU is supposed to provide higher education to young people in Hong Kong,” said Cheung.