For the first time, details of the Hong Kong police investigation of Miles Kwok, a wealthy Chinese businessman in exile in the United States, his son Guo Qiang, and his daughter Guo Mei have come to light.Hong Kong police previously suspected they were involved in laundering HK$32.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) and froze Guo Mei’s business accounts, court documents show.
Anton Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Anton) held by Guo Mei filed a judicial review application in the Hong Kong High Court on August 14, saying that the company’s account had been frozen for too long, causing financial difficulties. It was believed that the police’s actions violated the basic law on private property rights.terms of property rights.The Hong Kong police told BBC Chinese that they would not comment on the matter.
Guo Wengui fled China in 2014.Before and after his escape, his former business partners and political backers were arrested by the Chinese government.From the beginning of 2017, Guo Wengui broke the news through various media channels, accusing Wang Qishan, Meng Jianzhu and other senior CCP officials.
According to public information, Guo Wengui's wife is Yue Qingzhi, and they have a son and a daughter, son Guo Qiang and daughter Guo Mei.On the Hurun Report released on October 31, 2016, Guo Wengui's assets were 18 billion yuan. Hong Kong police's personal account under Guo's, Anton, and Hong Kong International Fund Investment Company are suspected of money laundering amounting to 32.9 billion Hong Kong dollars.Anton filed an application for judicial review in the Hong Kong High Court on August 14.
Chinese media accused him of crimes such as bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and forgery of official documents. Among them, Chinese media reported last year that Guo Wengui was suspected of bribing former Deputy Minister of State Security Ma Jian several times since 2010, involving a total value of 6, more than 10 million yuan.China's foreign ministry said in April last year that Interpol issued a red notice for Guo Wengui at the request of Beijing.
Guo Wengui sought political asylum in the United States in September last year, saying he was no longer a Chinese citizen.He also encountered lawsuits from Chinese companies and individuals in the United States, including HNA Group, well-known Chinese media personality Hu Shuli, real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi and his wife, etc.Guo Wengui denies all charges against him and maintains his innocence.
Money laundering case details
According to the petition obtained by BBC Chinese in the Hong Kong High Court, the applicant for this judicial review is Anton Development Limited (Anton Development Limited), and the proposed respondent is the Hong Kong Police Commissioner.
According to this document, the Hong Kong police suspected that Guo Wengui, his daughter Guo Mei, his son Guo Qiang, his assistant Qu Guojiao, and his bodyguard Han Chunguang were suspected of using their personal accounts to contact Anton and Hong Kong International Funds Investments (Hong Kong International Funds Investments).Limited), involving money laundering of 32.9 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.2 billion U.S. dollars).
captionCourt documents show that the Hong Kong police suspect Guo Wengui and others are involved in money laundering of HK$32.9 billion.
According to the document, Guo Mei is the owner of Anton and Hong Kong International Fund Investment Company, which are the channels used by the Guo family for investment.
According to the applicant, DBS Bank notified on July 12 last year that the police demanded to freeze Anton’s five accounts with no consent, three of which contained US$93 million and HK$83 million respectively.RMB 10,000 and RMB 3 million, and the assets of the other two accounts are unknown.
In August last year, the police raided the offices of the two companies and arrested Qu Guojiao on suspicion of money laundering.
According to the applicant, since July 19 last year, Anton has repeatedly asked the police to unfreeze the account through his lawyer, but the police only said that because the money laundering case was still under investigation, they could not disclose more information, nor did they mention when and how.Unfreeze the account.
The applicant specifically emphasized that the deposit of about US$9.3 million in the account was used as an investment in the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. If the police are willing to unfreeze the US$9.3 million, the applicant may be willing to agree to a restraining order issued by the court.
Guo Wengui sought political asylum in the United States in September last year, saying he was no longer a Chinese citizen.(File photo, November 28, 2017)
The applicant believes that the police have ordered the bank to freeze the account with the letter of disagreement for more than a year, and are unwilling to apply for a restraining order to the court. They believe that doing so violates the relevant regulations on private property rights in the Basic Law and has a serious impact on Anton.
The disapproval processing system means that when the police are investigating suspicious transactions, they will decide whether to issue a letter of disapproval to the bank or related organizations according to the situation. If they continue to process the business, they will lose the defense of immunity from charges.Based on this letter, the bank has frozen the relevant account.
The applicant questioned that the effective period of this system was too long, and he did not apply for a restraining order to the court. He believed that the police insisted on freezing the account through the non-consent processing system to maintain its flexibility and power.
The applicant revealed that the company had suggested to the police that the internal consultant of Anton Investment Fund Manager, Azhong Capital Group Co., Ltd., should assist the police in the investigation, but the police refused, and knowing that the beneficial owner of Anton was not in Hong Kong, they stillInsist on meeting Anton's beneficiary owner, believing that the police are deliberately making things difficult and negotiating with Anton in a procrastinating and evasive manner.
