Leung Chun-ying–UGL agreement

In October 2014, it was reported that Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, had signed an agreement in 2011 with UGL Limited, an Australian engineering firm, in relation to its takeover of DTZ Holdings, a UK-listed real estate services company in which Leung was the director of the company. In agreement, UGL undertook to pay Leung £4 million (HK$50 million) in two instalments in 2012 and 2013 respectively, subject to specific conditions. As these payments concurred with the term of office of Leung Chun-ying as Chief Executive between 2012 and 2017, it has aroused concerns of the public in respect of the nature of payment, potential conflict of interests, relevant systems of declaration of interests and taxation implications.

The UGL case has been under investigation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) since 2014 but has not come up with any conclusion. In July 2016, Rebecca Li Bo-lan, the acting head of the Operations Department of ICAC resigned after the cessation of the acting appointment in which such unusual change raised public concern. It was speculated it might be related to the UGL case as Li was reportedly its principal investigator. In November 2016, a select committee to inquire into the UGL incident was set up in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). In May 2017, it was revealed that Holden Chow, vice-chairman of the select committee, had privately discussed with the Chief Executive about the UGL case in which Leung "made suggestions about the scope" of the investigation. It raised public concern over Leung's interference into the investigation.

DTZ Holdings was a real estate services company listed in the United Kingdom with a history of more than 200 years before its closure. It had ventured into Asia since 1999, partnering with Asian firms including CY Lung & Co, a surveying company set up by Leung Chun-ying in Hong Kong. Leung was appointed as a board member of DTZ in December 2006 and chairman of DTZ Asia Pacific in February 2007.

DTZ was severely hit by the 2008 global financial crisis which resulted in a cumulative loss of £106.7 million (HK$1.3 billion) before tax during 2009–2011. As the major shareholder, Saint George Participations (SGP) refused to inject more liquidity into the company. As DTZ found it difficult to service the total secured debt of £110 million (HK$1.4 billion) owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), its lead creditor, the latter engaged Ernst and Young (EY) to provide strategic advice on the options available to RBS in regard to DTZ's debt on 17 October 2011. As a result, DTZ commenced a fast-track sale two days later to minimise its debt loss. ON 8 November 2011, UGL Limited, an Australian engineering firm was chosen as the "preferred bidder" in the rescue takeover of DTZ as voted by the DTZ directors.

...
Wikipedia