Then listed company chairman charged by ICAC over alleged HK$20m bribery in Dalian estate project acquisition

The ICAC this morning (October 9) charged a then chairman of a listed company for allegedly accepting HK$20 million in bribes from a shareholder of a Dalian estate developer, in exchange for causing the listed company to acquire a local real estate project at a consideration of RMB440 million. The case will be mentioned at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today.

Zhang Yadong, 58, then chairman of Greentown China Holdings Limited (Greentown China), faces a count of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantages, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.

The charge alleges that between January 2020 and March 2023, the defendant conspired with a middleman, a shareholder of the Dalian estate developer, the defendant’s son, and others to accept bribes totalling HK$20 million from the shareholder for causing Greentown China to acquire equity interests of the estate developer.

An ICAC investigation revealed that the shareholder had been pitching a Dalian real estate project to Greentown China since 2019. The defendant allegedly solicited bribes from the shareholder through the middleman to facilitate Greentown China’s acquisition of the project at a consideration of RMB440 million. The bribes were suspected to have been deposited into the bank account of the defendant’s son in multiple payments through the middleman.

Greentown China rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.