Ex-executives of Jimmy Lai’s Hong Kong media company file legal challenge against global accounting firm BDO
Hong Kong Free Press
Two former executives of Hong Kong’s Next Digital media group have filed a legal challenge against global accounting firm BDO, accusing it of helping city authorities to liquidate the company founded by jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai.
A court in late 2021 ordered the winding-up of Next Digital Limited, which Lai founded in 1990 as the parent company of Apple Daily. It has since then been controlled by liquidators appointed by authorities.
The court order came after police raids on Apple Daily’s newsroom and the freezing of HK$18 million in Next Digital assets in June 2021. Lai was charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law and is currently standing trial for collusion and sedition.
Mark Clifford and Gordon Crovitz, both ex-directors of Next Digital, filed a complaint with the British government last December, alleging that “BDO has enabled [human rights] abuses by providing essential relevant services to the Hong Kong government,” according to a 32-page document seen by HKFP.
Clifford, formerly the editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post, and Crovitz, who served as publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said in the document they had to leave Hong Kong because of the risk of arrest by national security authorities in the city.
The pair said the Hong Kong branch of BDO, a global accounting firm headquartered in the UK, and Clement Chan, the branch’s managing director for assurance, had “acted as a quasi-governmental agency at the behest of the [Hong Kong government], with no judicial oversight.”
In July 2021, shortly after the raids and the freezing of assets, Clement Chan – who has chaired the city’s Consumer Council since 2022 – was appointed by the city’s finance chief Paul Chan to investigate the financial affairs of Next Digital.
In September that year, Clement Chan submitted an interim report to the finance chief, who then cited “public interest” in ordering the winding-up of Next Digital.
Clifford and Crovitz said, by taking on the role of financial inspector that fostered the winding-up of Next Digital, Chan and BDO had violated rules laid down by the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
They said BDO had “failed to abstain from improper involvement in political activities” by acting as an inspector of Next Digital’s financial status.
Chan, quoted in a Reuters report, said his role had been a “personal appointment” by the finance chief under the city’s Companies Ordinance. He has not responded to HKFP’s request for comment.
Chan’s appointment as an inspector of Next Digital has been extended multiple times, with the latest six-month extension announced in July.
In an emailed response to HKFP’s questions, a spokesperson for BDO Global said the company “cannot provide further information” due to confidentiality obligations with regards to the proceedings in the UK.
BDO Hong Kong responded on Monday to say: “As stated in a brief statement by the HKSAR government last week, BDO has not been appointed as the Inspector of Next Digital Limited. Therefore, there is nothing BDO can address in relation to that case.”
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.