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Costs in George Tan's case explained
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The following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hon-chung and a reply by the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
It is reported that following the recent conviction of the defendant in the George Tan case, the Legal Department decided not to apply to the court for an order for the payment by the defendant of costs amounting to around $210 million. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the grounds on which the Legal Department made such a decision?
Reply:
Mr President,
Before I go into reasons why the Prosecution did not apply for costs in the George Tan case, Members may find it useful if I provide some background to this very large and complex commercial fraud case.
There were four co-defendants in this case. They were charged with various fraud and corruption offences involving sums in excess of US$500 million. Investigation, gathering of evidence and litigation spanned several countries including France, the United States of America, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Some of the defendants went to extraordinary lengths to avoid justice by fighting every point in numerous extradition proceedings, habeas corpus applications and judicial reviews. I am pleased to say that, after 13 years of intense effort, all four defendants were brought before the courts in Hong Kong at various times. Each of them pleaded guilty and was sentenced to terms of imprisonment. The estimated cost of $210 million covered the cost during these 13 years of all investigation and litigation in which Tan was the sole or was one of the parties involved.
Turning back to George Tan's guilty pleas, the guiding principle applied by the Prosecution in accepting the pleas was that they should adequately reflect the criminality of the case. The Prosecution also considered other relevant factors, including the strength of the case, the likely length of the trial and the likely sentence.
The reasons why the Prosecution did not apply for costs in the George Tan case were stated in court by prosecuting counsel when the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud in relation to sums amounting to US$238 million.