Joan Hon

Subscribe to all posts by Joan Hon

EY Appeals Hong Kong Court Order To Produce Audit Working Papers Notwithstanding Holding That EY ‘Deliberately Withheld From SFC’ and State Secrets Not at Issue

More than a year ago, we began following the so-called Ernst & Young (“EY”) State Secrets Case in Hong Kong.  On 23 May 2014, the High Court of Hong Kong finally concluded that there was no “reasonable excuse” for EY’s failure to comply with Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) notices seeking information and documents, and … Continue Reading

E&Y “State Secrets” Case Kicks Off in Hong Kong – But a Long Way to Go

Evidence kicked off last week in the highly anticipated case brought by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) against Ernst & Young Hong Kong (“E&Y”) over its failure to adequately respond to statutory requests for information in relation to an SFC investigation of the failed 2009 IPO of Chinese waste management company, Standard Water … Continue Reading

Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Charges Chinese Affiliates of Five Large Accounting Firms for Failing to Produce Work Papers

This post was also written by Terence Healy. Yesterday, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against the Chinese affiliates of the “Big Four” accounting firms and BDO related to audits they conducted at nine Chinese companies. At issue is the accounting firms’ “willful refusal” to provide audit work papers and other materials the Commission seeks in its … Continue Reading

Lost in Translation: Chinese Spring Ducks Beware the SFC!

Defining “insider trading” is already difficult enough, especially across different jurisdictions where elements and defenses can vary ever so slightly, and yet can result in very big differences. But try translating the term to your Chinese-speaking client. The most commonly used translation for insider trading is “內幕交易” (nèimùjiāoyì) – which literally means “trading behind the … Continue Reading

Don’t Drink and Deal: Former Hong Kong Civil Aviation Chief Gets Jail Sentence Despite Intoxication Defense

The Eastern Magistracy of Hong Kong recently found former Hong Kong civil aviation chief, Albert Lam Kwong-yu, guilty of insider dealing. On June 4, 2010, Lam, who at the time was an independent non-executive director (“INED”) of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (“HAECO”), received a call at 3:13 p.m. from HAECO’s Chief Executive Officer about … Continue Reading
LexBlog