Ted Hui had secret funds transferred overseas while fleeing Hong Kong

Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government

Renegade lawyer and fugitive from Hong Kong justice, Ted Hui Chi-fung, who had his Hong Kong assets confiscated this week by the Court of First Instance, has a secret stash overseas, according to interviews he had with foreign media.

On Monday (Feb.17) the court ordered the confiscation of assets worth about $800,000 from Hui after it was learned that he had already given $2.5 million in assets to his mother and wife before and after he absconded from Hong Kong in December 2020. Assets held by a law firm in Hong Kong have also been confiscated.

The Hong Kong Police Force confirmed to local media that Hui was suspected of embezzling crowdfunding money from his relatives' accounts and was being investigated for money laundering.

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review recently, Hui admitted that during a brief reprieve in the freezing of his accounts in 2020, he was able to get most of his money out before the freeze was reinstated. He made a similar statement to The Guardian saying he was able to transfer “the majority of funds” out of Hong Kong. Hui had at least five accounts at HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China (Hong Kong) belonging to him and his family members. There are suggestions in some quarters that this transfer could be in the range of about $12 million.

As soon as the court order was made, Hui protested violently on his Facebook site that the ruling was absurd and was a violation of human rights.

The HKSAR Government reacted to clarify that: "Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed, and lawbreakers be held accountable. Amongst others, it is a common and effective practice to make an application to the Court for a confiscation order to prevent offenders from benefiting from their criminal acts. In fact, laws and mechanisms for confiscation of crime proceeds are common around the world. They cover the crime proceeds from commission of any serious offence, including offences endangering national security."

Its statement noted that Hui had committed numerous heinous crimes, with a number of criminal charges being laid against him. He conspired with foreign politicians in 2020 to forge documents and deceive the court with false information in order to obtain the court's permission to leave Hong Kong while he was on bail, jumped bail and absconded overseas. Afterwards, he was suspected to have committed offences endangering national security overseas. On August 12, 2021, and June 21, 2023, two magistrates issued warrants against Hui for allegedly committed crimes of 'inciting secession', 'inciting subversion of state power', and 'colluding with foreign or external forces to endanger national security'. Hui is a wanted person with reward notice by the Police.

Police said Hui has advocated Taiwan independence, Hong Kong independence and the overthrow of China's basic system through social media.

"Between January 2021 and December 2022, Hui published posts on social media to request foreign countries to impose sanctions and engage in other hostile activities against the PRC and the Hong Kong SAR," a police warrant read.

The police also alleged Hui has colluded with foreign forces and is an advisory board member of anti-China groups Hong Kong Watch in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong Democracy Council in the United States. He lobbied Western politicians and officials to impose sanctions against the mainland and Hong Kong, police said.

Hui has always been troublesome. He first caught media attention for his protests in the Legislative Council. In 2014, he was ejected from a meeting of the council's working group on civic education when protesting the council's decision to grant HK$150,000 to pro-Beijing groups.

Hui was also considered to be quite radical within the Democratic Party when he opposed the party's meetings with Beijing officials. And, in April 2018, Hui was under police investigation for snatching a Security Bureau executive officer's phone and taking it to a Legislative Council Complex toilet on 24 April 2018. The Democratic Party suspended the lawmaker and criticized him for seriously tarnishing the reputation of lawmakers.
Hui disrupted the second reading of the National Anthem Bill in the Legislative Council by dropping a container containing rotten plant matter inside the chamber. A fellow lawmaker was taken to hospital after being exposed to the smell. Hui and two other lawmakers, Eddie Chu and Raymond Chan, were charged with hindering the business of the council and violating the Powers and Privileges Ordinance, with Hui having dropped the foul-smelling liquid during the LegCo session. Hui was subsequently fined HK$52,000.

When Hui decided to jump bail, he fled to Denmark with the help of political friends under the guise that he was attending an environmental meeting. From there he went to London and then to Australia, where his sister lives. He said that he would be practising full time at a law firm – RSA Law – in Adelaide, mainly focusing on civil and commercial cases, and would help Hongkongers who had applied for asylum in the country. Hui finished a law degree in Hong Kong but never practised.

He now lives in Adelaide, South Australia, where he passed integrity vetting despite having boasted that he faced a total of 23 charges in Hong Kong and had seven warrants out for his arrest, claiming his admission as a lawyer was a “slap on the face” for Hong Kong authorities. But then, again, Australia’s foundation is based on the importation of criminals.

Mark Pinkstone

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Without a doubt Hong Kong is a major player in global financial markets, an accolade that is being further enhanced with the city’s rising status as the top arts hub in Asia with global recognition in its sights.

International attention is focused on Hong Kong during March as it hosts a series of art-related events culminating in the world-acclaimed Art Basel Hong Kong 2026. For Hong Kong and, indeed, the art world, this is a major event where outstanding works of art are displayed and sold.

Art Basel Hong Kong kicked off locally in 2013 and has become a prominent flagship on the city’s international calendar every year thereafter. And it brings in thousands of visitors. Last year, for example, it featured 240 galleries from 42 countries and regions, attracting 85,500 visitors, half of which travelled to Hong Kong for the event. Another 240 galleries from Australia, Japan, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, Georgia, Spain and the United States are taking part in the exhibition this year.

A curtain raiser to Art Basel is the home-grown Art Central along the Central harborfront, which featured some 117 galleries with 500 artists from around the world. That makes 357 galleries featured in these two exhibitions this week.

This highlight of Hong Kong’s event calendar is a boon for our tourist industry, attracting several million visitors in a single month. Hotels are booked to capacity and bars and restaurants report an additional 15-20 per cent increase in revenue during the month. Government economists estimate that every 1.5 million tourists add HK$3 billion to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Since its inaugural edition in 2015, Art Central has established itself as a leading platform for innovation in contemporary art, advancing the profiles of artists and galleries and reinforcing their presence within the international art landscape.

It was Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WestK) who noted that the cultural industry is closely connected with finance, as family offices are increasingly looking to invest in art in Hong Kong.

“We could also work with financial institutions to encourage more of their clients to become art collectors,” she said. “It’s not going to be overnight, you might first become a member of a museum, then a patron, then you might start to buy or even donate.”

Having already developed a reputation as an art trading centre, the city is now making its mark as an arts and cultural hub, led by the continued development of WestK.

These two art exhibitions are in a place where new talent is discovered. Collectors generally buy art from well established artists like Pablo Picasso, who has a collection of about 30 pieces of his works on display at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. These art pieces are regarded as minor works and can be purchased for several thousand US dollars.

The art market has fully recovered from the declines due to the COVID outbreak and in 2024 sales of art works through auctions and private negotiations reached about US$39 million (HK$300 million).

The art market is full of artists that have yet to gain a following or break into the blue-chip world. Up-and-coming artists often produce top-tier quality works for a fraction of the price of blue-chip pieces because they don’t yet have the name recognition. Up and coming artists who have won competitions organised by the Sovereign Art Foundation and others have made the first step to such recognition.

Knowledge of the art world and art market is helpful, so beginners are not likely to stumble upon the next Andy Warhol. This form of investing is highly speculative compared to investing in old masters or blue-chip work. The exhibition is a showcase for new artists to make their debut to the international buyers and collectors looking for new talent with potential.

Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts hub has signed agreements with 12 international institutions from Australia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, paving the way for future collaborations as the city seeks to strengthen its role as an East-meets-West cultural hub. This will help bring more international performances to the city, showcase Hong Kong productions to global audiences, support the exchange of talent and more. The agreements were signed during a two-day International Cultural Summit held in conjunction with the cultural festivities.
But the agreement which cements Hong Kong as the arts hub of Asia was that signed by Art Basel of Switzerland to continue holding Art Basel Hong Kong for the next five years.

The collaboration with Art Basel for the next five years is the result of sustained investment in Hong Kong’s role as a global financial centre, collaboration and a shared commitment to make Hong Kong a place where the arts can truly flourish.

Internationally acclaimed artists bring fame to Hong Kong, a melting pot where culture transcends borders. And even without such major events, Hong Kong’s array of galleries along Hollywood Road is a living museum of fine arts, a major tourist attraction in the city.