“Lai had a long history of financing local and overseas entities with political backgrounds,” said prosecutor Crystal Chan Wing-sum, citing the report, on the ninth day of the trial.
The court heard that beneficiaries included ex-legislator Au Nok-hin and the Democratic Party, Civic Party, Labour Party, League of Social Democrats and Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the organiser behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil.
All but one of the payments highlighted in Wednesday’s hearing were allegedly made before the Beijing-imposed national security law took effect in June 2020.
“It is obvious that Lai made use of Simon’s [bank] account to dissipate his funds for years for suspicious purposes,” Chan said from the report.
While the defence did not dispute the truthfulness of the figures provided in the report, Lai’s counsel Steven Kwan Man-wai complained about the “colourful and dramatic language” used in Hung’s statement and urged the bench to read it with caution.
Mr Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang, one of three High Court judges hearing the trial, echoed the sentiment and said: “There are certain things said by Hung which I think is a matter for the court [to decide].”
The report offered a glimpse into the vast assets of Lai, whose income reportedly derived mainly from overseas securities trading.
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai ‘gave more than HK$8.9 million to anti-China group’
The court heard the tycoon received a total of HK$2.945 billion in deposits through nine personal bank accounts over the years, with origins including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the US and Canada.
Lai also made five shareholder loans totalling HK$500 million to Next Digital, which owned Apple Daily, when the company was operating at a loss between June 2019 and July 2020.
The report said Lai had used Simon’s personal bank account as a temporary depository to keep more than HK$118 million of funds, with HK$93.26 million further dissipated to political parties and affiliated beneficiaries.
Investigators highlighted the transactions between Lai and five beneficiaries they said were made for no apparent reasons.
Cardinal Zen was named the biggest recipient on the list, with HK$3.5 million transferred to his name in 2017.
Wolfowitz, America’s deputy secretary of defence from 2001 to 2005, reportedly accepted six payments from Lai amounting to more than HK$1.76 million between 2013 and 2017.
The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative public policy think tank, was given HK$116,403 between 2015 and 2017.
The remaining recipients were paralegal Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, who was alleged to be a key member of Lai’s criminal plot, and the Britain-based advocacy group Hong Kong Watch. They reportedly received HK$144,000 and HK$202,000 respectively.
Simon, meanwhile, was said to have transferred more than HK$900,000 from his personal bank account to groups and individuals with political affiliations.
Witness can start testifying against ex-boss Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong court hears
Lai and Simon also reportedly made contributions of nearly HK$22 million using two private companies under their control.
Prosecutors also played video footage of Lai’s interview with police from September 2020, conducted after his arrest.
In the one-hour interview, Lai is seen repeatedly pushing back at police suggestions he was connected to Andy Li Yu-hin, another of the tycoon’s alleged co-conspirators.
Lai also denied knowledge about various political advertisements Li reportedly published overseas, including those in the US, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Japan and South Korea.
The court adjourned the case until next Tuesday for both parties to prepare arguments about reference being made to a prosecution report that carried an expert’s opinions about the legal effects of US sanctions on Hong Kong.
Lai was slapped with two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third conspiracy charge by invoking colonial-era sedition legislation.
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai set up English Apple Daily to win US support, court hears
The prosecution earlier alleged Lai, 76, had exercised full control over Apple Daily and given instructions to its senior editorial staff when the tabloid published 161 seditious articles between April 2019 and June 2021 – 31 of which were said to have also called for foreign sanctions after the national security law took effect.
Lai was also said to have financed and orchestrated an international lobbying campaign titled “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” in a bid to convince the United States and its allies to introduce sanctions and trade restrictions, as well as sever agreements with Hong Kong concerning the extradition of fugitives and mutual legal assistance.
