Chinaleaks: Hong Kong anti-poverty duo 'failed to declare ties to tax haven'
Leaked papers reveal tycoon and union leader, who sit on commission to help poor, have links to companies in secretive British Virgin Islands
Two members of the government's Commission on Poverty failed to declare ties to companies registered in the secretive tax haven of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), leaked documents show.
Research by the into a trove of 2.5 million documents passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed that tycoon Henry Cheng Kar-shun and Federation of Trade Unions president Lam Shuk-yee were among 12,600 Hongkongers with interests in the BVI. Neither of them could be reached for comment last night.
While there are no legal consequences for commission members who fail to declare an interest, a fellow member says the pair's use of the notorious tax haven could shake public faith in the poverty-fighting body.
A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Secretary, which oversees the commission, said members had to disclose "general pecuniary interests" and update the information annually, while reporting conflicts of interest.
Cheng, chairman of New World Development, did disclose he was a director of 14 offshore companies when joining the commission on its revival in 2012. The ICIJ data revealed directorships of at least 110 BVI firms.
A New World spokesman said Cheng "joined the commission in a personal capacity".
