The trial involving Roy Cho Kwai-chee, the alleged mastermind in a fraud with two other senior executives of Convoy Global holdings, continued today.
The prosecution and the defense are debating whether the three had a secret agreement between them, the judgment was therefore deferred till November 30.
Right after opening the court, Judge Ernest Lin Kam-Hung pointed out that in order for a conviction, the prosecution must prove that there was an agreement between the three defendants.
The prosecution responded with how the case mainly relied on environmental evidence, and that Cho needed to use the authority of the other two defendants in Convoy to conceal the relevant acquisition decisions of Convoy’s board of directors, shareholders, and the Securities and Futures Commission. At the same time, the three were not announced in the annual report.
However, Senior Counsel Wong Ching Y. emphasized that the opposition admitted that he had no way of proving Cho Kwai-chee as the “shadow director”, if Convoy considers Cho as an actual director, the company will assign him as the director instead of the role of consultant.
Wong pointed out that even if Cho decides to declare himself as a related party in the transaction, the board will not necessarily accept it, since none of the directors appeared in court to testify, leaving the court unable to make a factual decision.
Senior Council Ms Maggie Wong also stated that the current evidence is not sufficient enough to prove an agreement between the three defendants.
Roy Cho Kwai-Chee, Chan Lai-Yee and Byron Tan Yi-Kai were charged with concealing Cho’s shareholding information and the failure to disclose Convoy’s acquisition of True Surplus International.
Convoy used more than HK$89 million to acquire True Surplus International. They were also charged with deceiving staff by concurring to publish false statements in the company’s 2016 annual report published on March 29, 2017.
Roy Cho Kwai-chee is on trial for fraud.
