Birmingham City Football Club owner Carson Yeung Ka-sing, facing money laundering charges involving HK$721 million, has been granted permission to travel to the UK to deal with affairs of the football club.

At the District Court on Tuesday, Yeung's counsel, Clive Grossman, told Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi that Yeung, as chairman of the football club's parent company Birmingham International and president of Birmingham City football club, is obliged to speak to the board, the management, the players and the fans. This cannot be done from Hong Kong, Grossman argued.

Grossman also disputed suggestions by the prosecution's opposition that Yeung's surrogates, including other executive directors, can stand in for Yeung.

Grossman told the court that Yeung is "a well-known public figure" and "cannot be substituted".

"There is not the slightest chance of (Yeung) absconding," Grossman said.

Chan approved the application to permit Yeung to leave Hong Kong from Sept 15-19, on condition that the cash bail be doubled to HK$8 million, in addition to a surety of HK$3 million.

Yeung is also required to give the police his itinerary and address during his stay in the UK.

He is also required to surrender his travel document when he returns to Hong Kong.

Yeung had made an earlier application to travel to the UK to attend to business matters. That application was rejected earlier in August.

Yeung, who appeared in court, entered no plea. He will face a pre-trial hearing on Dec 7 at the District Court.

The 51-year-old football tycoon is facing five counts.

He is charged with "dealing in property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offenses".

The criminal activities are alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2007.

The prosecution said he paid only HK$1.65 million in taxes, while HK$660 million was deposited into his three bank accounts during the six-year period.

In addition, two bank accounts in the name of Yeung's father received HK$88.4 million, while only HK$6,880 in taxes was paid.

Yeung's father has not been back to Hong Kong since 2008, according to the prosecution.

The prosecution argued that the case was serious enough to merit a prison term for Carson Yeung.

Grossman, appearing for Yeung, countered that the evidence is weak, and that Yeung will have bankers testifying on his behalf.

andrea@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/31/2011 page1)