Man sentenced for false accounting

A man convicted of false accounting was sentenced to four years and six months' imprisonment and disqualification from acting as director for 10 years at the Court of First Instance today (October 25).

The court heard that the 61-year-old defendant was a director of a hedge fund managing company. In June 2004, officers of the Commercial Crime Bureau arrested the defendant upon receiving a report from the Securities and Futures Commission for suspicion of the defendant in misappropriating clients' fund.

Police further enquiries revealed that the defendant had allegedly transferred the money to other designated hedge fund companies for further investment but the companies and the related bank accounts were in fact set up and controlled by the defendant. No money had ever been invested as alleged.

The defendant was subsequently charged with 19 counts of false accounting related to the provision of false accounting documents and quarterly statements to the auditors and the investors respectively, involving a total loss of about $363 million.

He pleaded guilty to the charges on September 21, 2006 and the sentence was meted out today.


Police Report No. 5

Issued by PPRB

End/Wednesday, October 25, 2006