Carson Yeung to appeal against conviction
REPORTS from Hong Kong suggest that Birmingham City majority shareholder Carson Yeung has filed an appeal against his conviction and six-year jail term for laundering HK$721m (£55m).
According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, a spokesperson for the judiciary confirmed that Yeung had filed the notice of appeal within the deadline of 28 days from his sentence in district court on March 7.
Yeung – a former hairdresser – was found guilty of laundering the money using five bank accounts at Wing Lung Bank and HSBC between 2001 and 2007.
During his trial the court had heard that, from 2001, various parties had made deposits into the accounts, many for no apparent reason. Some were made by securities firms and a Macau casino, others were made by unknown parties.
Prosecutor John Reading told the newspaper: “An appeal was to be expected. Defendants in these types of cases always appeal.
“He will, however, have to have substantial grounds available if he expects to obtain bail pending appeal from a court of appeal judge.”
The prosecution will apply on April 3 to confiscate some of Yeung’s assets, about HK$400m of which have been frozen by a court injunction.
Yeung took over Birmingham City in 2009 and was arrested in June 2011. He quit all his posts in the club’s holding company last month.
