Eugene Yeoh Kim-loong was accused of taking HK$9.15 million ($1.18 million) from IPO consultant Richard Lum Chor-wah between 2017 and 2019, in order to give companies an easier path to being approved to list on the bourse. The city’s anti-graft body, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, first took the pair to court in March 2020. They had been on bail since, until today’s court appearance.

Yeoh and Lum pleaded not guilty to all charges and will remain on bail.

Starting in 2015, Hong Kong Jockey Club member Lum recommended Yeoh’s later successful application to join the club, according to the prosecution.

From 2017, Lum also provided Yeoh with HK$9.15 million. They, as well as Yeoh’s wife, would meet at Exchange Square podium — just steps away from the bourse’s office — and at a restaurant in a local shopping mall, Elements, where Lum gave “paper bags with content” to Yeoh, according to the prosecutor.

Yeoh and his wife used the money to purchase investment funds and pay off credit card loans, the prosecutor said. The couple discussed investments in email and WeChat messages.