Tang estate left with bad taste in mouth

Late apparel tycoon David Tang Wing-cheung has again been accused of stealing from another of his companies, with Italian restaurant Cipriani Hong Kong, which he cofounded, being the latest to accuse him of taking HK$35 million and at least five artworks from the eatery.

However, the writ, filed with the high court on Tuesday, did not state how much Cipriani is seeking from Tang.

Tang, also the founder of luxury apparel brand Shanghai Tang and private clubhouse China Club, was alleged to have stolen from the club too, as it filed on Friday a writ with the high court demanding HK$115 million from his estate administrator.

The writ said over HK$100 million of the club's amount was improperly transferred by Tang to his personal account or to the accounts of his related companies in ways that breach his fiduciary duty as a director of China Club.

According to the subpoena filed by Cipriani, Tang improperly transferred over HK$35.27 million of its funds to his personal account or to the accounts of his related companies in ways that breach his fiduciary duty as a director of Cipriani.

The plaintiff alleges that Tang transferred US$825,000 (HK$6.44 million) and around HK$18.15 million from its bank account to his personal account or accounts controlled by him, including an account of D W C Tang Development, a non-Hong Kong company incorporated in the Republic of Liberia, between 2005 and 2017.

The restaurant also alleged that he sold a painting, Sensation, belonging to Albemarle Gallery in exchange for another painting with an estimated value of 10,000 euros (HK$80,530).

Also alleged are that five artworks were found to be missing and that Tang invoiced the plaintiff and companies in the plaintiff's corporate group and transferred HK$10.6 million from Cipriani's account to his personal account from 2007 to 2013.

The restaurant is seeking an order from the court declaring the money was held by Tang as a trustee on behalf of the company and requiring his estate administrator to return the money, pay compensation, plus interest and legal costs.

Cipriani was set up in 2003 as a private club located in the Bank of China Building to offer Italian cuisine, including drinks and services.