Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai found guilty of felony fraud

Oct. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, jailed for taking part in the 2018 and 2019 unauthorized demonstrations, was found guilty on Tuesday of defrauding a government company in an unauthorized office rental deal for his missing person. tabloid ‘Apple Daily’.

The ruling alleges that Lai and Wong Wai Keung, the managing director of Next Digital, the parent company of ‘Apple Daily’, “deliberately” hid the involvement of a consulting firm in the operation, reports the ‘South China Morning Post’. ‘.

Lai, 74, was already tried earlier this year on two other counts of fraud after being accused of covering up Dico Consultants’ operations at the ‘Apple Daily’ headquarters in the Tseung Kwan O neighborhood, as well as for failing to comply with the rental conditions of their properties for more than two decades.

The lease agreement established that the offices of ‘Apple Daily’ would be used solely for “the publication and printing of newspapers and magazines”, however, they were also used, according to the ruling, for consulting companies to provide their own services and manage the rest of Lai’s businesses without the knowledge and licenses granted by the public company.