Post by Macmoish on Jun 30, 2011 6:39:41 GMT
GUARDIAN/Stuart James
Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung arrested by Hong Kong police
• Hong Kong businessman questioned over 'money-laundering'
• City believe inquiries 'nothing to do with operation of club'
Birmingham City have been plunged into crisis after Carson Yeung, the club's president and largest single shareholder, was arrested by Hong Kong police over allegations in relation to money-laundering. The 51-year-old was detained in custody after being charged with five counts of "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence".
Yeung, who has a 23.3% stake in the Championship club and is chairman of its parent company, Birmingham International Holdings Limited, is due to appear in court on Thursday. Peter Pannu, Birmingham's acting chairman, said Yeung was assisting Hong Kong police in relation to criminal investigations which, at this stage, he believes do not have any connection to the operation of the parent company or any of its subsidiaries.
News of Yeung's arrest is, however, a major embarrassment for the club and will prompt fresh concerns about the ownership structure at St Andrew's. The Football League has confirmed that it is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to do so before deciding whether to take any action. The Premier League will be relieved the problem is no longer on their watch.
Hong Kong police, who would not confirm the identity of the person arrested in relation to the money laundering case, issued a statement that said: "Police today [29 June] arrested a male, aged 51, in connection with a money-laundering case. Narcotics bureau officers also searched a total of two locations today, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon, and seized some documents.
"The arrested person has been charged with five counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence and is detained in police custody. He will appear in Eastern Magistracy tomorrow [30 June]. Active police investigation is under way."
Pannu said the investigation was not connected to the club and parent company. He said: "I have just had a call from the Birmingham International Holdings' lawyers informing me of the position in Hong Kong and I have also been informed by them that Carson is assisting with inquiries that have nothing to do with the operation of BIHL in Hong Kong and therefore nothing to do with the operation of the club, and relate to other matters. People are reminded that in recent years members of the previous board were placed on bail for a significant amount of time and nothing came of it. I am only using this as an example to calm any fears."
Yeung took over at St Andrew's in October 2009, when he assumed control from David Gold and David Sullivan, after agreeing a deal that valued the club at £81m. Little, however, is known about the source of his financial backing, which came under fresh scrutiny last season when auditors posted warnings about the club's ability to continue in business. It later emerged that Yeung was preparing to mortgage his private properties in a cash-raising exercise to help keep the club solvent.
Although Yeung saw Birmingham win their first major trophy in 48 years, when they defeated Arsenal in the Carling Cup final at Wembley in February, he was also present at White Hart Lane on the final day of the season to see the club relegated to the Championship. The turmoil at the club continued with departure of the manager, Alex McLeish, to Aston Villa this month and shows no sign of abating following Yeung's arrest.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/29/birmingham-city-carson-yeung-police
Guardian
Birmingham City owner in HK court to face charges
Reuters, Thursday June 30 2011 By Donny Kwok
HONG KONG, Jun 30 (Reuters) - Hong Kong hairdresser-turned-tycoon Carson Yeung, who hit the headlines when he bought English soccer club Birmingham city two years ago, is in the news again -- this time being charged in a Hong Kong district court for money laundering.
The 51-year-old businessman, who having spent time in Britain as a teenager started off on the road to riches as a hairdresser in Hong Kong's bustling Tsim Sha Tsui shopping belt, was held overnight in police custody.
On Thursday, he was charged with five counts of "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence" totalling some HK$721 million ($92.6 million), according to a statement by the Hong Kong magistrate court.
Yeung showed up in court on Thursday morning in a dark suit and peach-coloured shirt and was ordered to have his passport confiscated.
He was released on bail of HK$7 million, with HK$4 million from himself and the remaining split between two of his associates .
The tycoon remained silent throughout his court appearance and spoke
only once to request that he be allowed to present himself at a particular police station in Central district when the court ordered him to report to police three times a week.
The magnate turned heads in 2009 when he put down HK$1.2 billion to become Birmingham's single-largest shareholder.
The following year he was seen standing alongside senior Communist Party officials during a friendly between Birmingham and a Chinese team in Beijing's "birds nest" stadium.
During the Birmingham buyout, Yeung famously said he wanted to turn the English club into "a Chinese-English soccer club".
Yeung showed his business acumen early on when he opened his own hair salon in 1994, but had his fingers burnt when Hong Kong's property boom went bust three years later, soon after he had invested in two apartments and nearly a dozen parking lots.
Yeung was undeterred, however, and struck his first big pot of gold when he teamed up in 2004 with Ng Man Sun, the founder of Macau's Greek Mythology luxury casino, to bet on Macau casino stocks.
Yeung, whose wealth is estimated at HK$1.86 billion, is now also a major shareholder and chairman of Sing Pao daily news - a Chinese-language Hong Kong newspaper he saved with a HK$60 million bailout loan in 2008 when it ran into financial difficulty.
Seen as a "very generous person" by acquaintances, Yeung lives with his partner and two children in a 6,000 square-foot mansion in Hong Kong's rarefied Peak district.
Among his fleet of cars is a HK$6 million Maybach.
($1 = HK$7.783)
(Reporting by Donny Kwok and Kelvin Soh; Writing by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Ossian Shine; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/9720120
