Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog arrested a retired lawmaker and his son and charged them with fraud for transactions related to a publicly listed company almost a decade ago.

A businesswoman linked to the case was also charged.

Chim Pui-chung, the two-term former Legislative Councillor, was charged with conspiring to defraud shareholders by concealing a back door listing agreement for Asia Resources Holdings between 2013 and 2015. His son Ricky Chim Kim-lun, 52, was also charged with fraud, while the businesswoman Wong Poe-lai, 65, was charged with money laundering, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday.

The Chims were released on HK$2 million bail each, while Wong’s bail was set at HK$200,000 by the acting Principal Magistrate Jason Wan Siu-ming at the Sha Tin Magistrate’s Court. The trio were ordered to surrender their travel documents, observe a travel ban, report to police once a week and stay away from all prosecution witnesses.

The case will be heard on February 28 next year, when all proceedings will be merged with a fourth defendant, Ma Zhonghong, a 48-year-old merchant, who was charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud and one of money laundering over the same plot. Ma was denied bail as he has already been remanded in custody on a separate charge of illegally entering Hong Kong in June.

Chim Pui-chung announced his post-retirement comeback when he threw his hat into the ring as candidate for the Western District during the 2016 Legislative Council election on June 6, 2016.

Chim, a former stockbroker dubbed the “golden banker” for owning stakes in 25 publicly traded companies, served in Hong Kong’s legislature from 2004 to 2012 until his retirement.

Ricky Chim Kim-lun, candidate for the Legislative Council’s financial services constituency, during an interview in Admiralty on August 18, 2016.

Chim became a substantial shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Asia Resources Holdings, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical and health care products, in October 2008. His son was chairman of the company between 2008 and 2014.

Ma, an associate of Wong, conspired with the Chims and other unidentified persons to commit fraud by concealing his agreement to pay HK$210 million to the duo to control between 70 per cent and 75 per cent of Asia Resources between July 2013 and November 2015, the ICAC said. The deal constituted a back door listing because it denied the stock exchange and other shareholders of the opportunity to scrutinise the transaction, the ICAC said.

Wong and Ma were charged with money laundering for handling HK$42 million in proceeds from a placement of convertible notes issued by Asia Resources, considered the proceeds of an indictable offence.

The ICAC said the investigation arose from a corruption complaint referred by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The commission and the stock exchange rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation, the commission said.