Hong Kong court finds former bourse exec not guilty of graft

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court said on Friday (Dec 3), Eugene Yeoh, former co-head of IPO vetting at the financial hub's stock exchange operator, was not guilty of receiving bribes to look favourably on listing applications.

IPO consultant Richard Lum, who had been accused of paying bribes to Yeoh, was also found not guilty.

Yeoh's role at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was to make sure applications were compliant with listing rules and endorse recommendations to the bourse’s listing committees which have the final say on a listing candidate's eligibility.

The prosecution had argued Yeoh and Lum had collaborated on at least 12 IPOs between 2015 and 2019, most on Hong Kong's junior Growth Enterprise Market, or GEM board.

But judge Gary Lam said the prosecution had not proven Yeoh knew of Lum's role in the relevant IPOs.