Birmingham City Football Club majority shareholder Carson Yeung was found guilty by a Hong Kong court today of five counts of money-laundering in a high-profile trial. Yeung, who had denied the charges of laundering $93 million between January 2001 and December 2007, will be sentenced on Friday. He faces up to seven years in jail, although a five year sentence is being forecast.
Birmingham City Football Club majority shareholder Carson Yeung was found guilty by a Hong Kong court today of five counts of money-laundering in a high-profile trial. Yeung, who had denied the charges of laundering $93 million between January 2001 and December 2007, will be sentenced on Friday. He faces up to seven years in jail, although a five year sentence is being forecast.
A former hair stylist to Hong Kong’s rich and famous, Yeung had told the court he amassed his wealth through hairdressing, share trading, property purchases, gambling in the world’s casino hub of Macau and other investments.
Prosecutors had pointed to what they said were suspicious cheque payments made to Yeung by employees of Macau companies, including a junket operator, which earns commissions from casinos to attract cash-rich gamblers.
Delivering his verdict to a packed courtroom after a trial that lasted more than 50 days, District Court Judge Douglas Yau said Yeung had lied about how he made his money and exaggerated the amount of cash generated by his hair salon business and through gambling.
‘I find the defendant not a witness of truth. I find that he is someone who is prepared to, and did try to, lie whenever he saw the need to do so,’ the judge said.
Yeung, who was little known prior to his emergence in English football, took control of the club in October 2009 in an £81m takeover from David Sullivan and David Gold, now the co-owners of West Ham.
In February Yeung resigned as chairman and executive director of Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHL), which owns the club.
Yeung, whose Cantonese name is Yeung Ka-sing, emerged in 2007 with a bid for Birmingham. The takeover attempt failed when he missed the deadline to hand over money. He quietly acquired a 29.9% stake and in 2009, Yeung’s Grandtop International Holdings – which later became BIHL – bought the club from Sullivan and Gold.
The club has stated that its day-to-day operations will not be affected by the verdict. Nevertheless, it does make the so far unsuccessful search for a new owner more imperative.