Two company directors face court for alleged bribery over purchase of toys for BBCW
2002-3-1
Two company directors, who were toy sourcing agents of BBC Worldwide Limited (BBCW), appeared in Eastern Court today (Friday) for an alleged bribery scam over the placing of purchase orders for toys with suppliers.
Daniel Jonathan BERMAN, 31, director of Eurasia Management Services Limited (EMS), and Sydney EDELS, 59, director of EMS Asia Limited (EMS Asia), were charged by the ICAC with a total of eight alleged offences.
EMS was a toy sourcing agent of BBCW, a subsidiary company wholly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation. EMS Asia is a company formed by EMS in Hong Kong.
No pleas were taken. Magistrate Mr Ian Candy adjourned the case until March 28, 2002, pending transfer to the District Court.
BERMAN and EDELS were each granted cash bail of $100,000. They were ordered to surrender all travel documents, not to leave Hong Kong, and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.
One of the charges alleges that BERMAN and EDELS had conspired with other persons to defraud BBCW by dishonestly:
- causing and permitting G.C. & CO., a supplier of toys, to falsely inflate the prices of goods sold to BBCW on the relevant invoices presented to BBCW for payments;
- falsely representing to BBCW that the falsely inflated prices stated on the invoices of G.C. & CO. were true prices;
- causing BBCW to accept that the falsely inflated prices on the G.C. & CO. invoices as the true prices;
- causing BBCW to pay to G.C. & CO. sums as stated on the falsely inflated invoices; and
- causing G.C. & CO. to pay the differences between the true prices and the falsely inflated prices to either of two
companies, namely Tristar Holding Group Limited and Anker Limited, both of which were under the control of
BERMAN.
BERMAN and EDELS are also jointly charged with conspiring together to accept advantages from G.C. & CO. for placing purchase orders of goods with G.C. & CO. on behalf of BBCW.
BERMAN alone further faces one count of fraud, which alleges that he had falsely represented to officers of Sun Shine Toys Limited (Sun Shine), another supplier of toys, that EMS Asia had approval from BBCW to arrange for Sun Shine to inflate the prices o f goods sold to BBCW and accept from Sun Shine the differences between the true prices and the inflated prices as the operation fees of EMS Asia.
The charge also alleges that BERMAN, with intent to defraud, had induced officers of Sun Shine to inflate the prices of goods and pay the differences to Skyline Limited, a company under his control.
BERMAN further faces five counts of accepting US$49,306.20 (about HK$384,588) in total from Sun Shine for placing purchase orders of goods with Sun Shine on behalf of BBCW.
The alleged offences took place between August 1999 and September 2001.
BBCW had offered full assistance to the ICAC during its enquiries.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Henley Tsun.
Daniel Jonathan BERMAN, 31, director of Eurasia Management Services Limited (EMS), and Sydney EDELS, 59, director of EMS Asia Limited (EMS Asia), were charged by the ICAC with a total of eight alleged offences.
EMS was a toy sourcing agent of BBCW, a subsidiary company wholly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation. EMS Asia is a company formed by EMS in Hong Kong.
No pleas were taken. Magistrate Mr Ian Candy adjourned the case until March 28, 2002, pending transfer to the District Court.
BERMAN and EDELS were each granted cash bail of $100,000. They were ordered to surrender all travel documents, not to leave Hong Kong, and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.
One of the charges alleges that BERMAN and EDELS had conspired with other persons to defraud BBCW by dishonestly:
- causing and permitting G.C. & CO., a supplier of toys, to falsely inflate the prices of goods sold to BBCW on the relevant invoices presented to BBCW for payments;
- falsely representing to BBCW that the falsely inflated prices stated on the invoices of G.C. & CO. were true prices;
- causing BBCW to accept that the falsely inflated prices on the G.C. & CO. invoices as the true prices;
- causing BBCW to pay to G.C. & CO. sums as stated on the falsely inflated invoices; and
- causing G.C. & CO. to pay the differences between the true prices and the falsely inflated prices to either of two
companies, namely Tristar Holding Group Limited and Anker Limited, both of which were under the control of
BERMAN.
BERMAN and EDELS are also jointly charged with conspiring together to accept advantages from G.C. & CO. for placing purchase orders of goods with G.C. & CO. on behalf of BBCW.
BERMAN alone further faces one count of fraud, which alleges that he had falsely represented to officers of Sun Shine Toys Limited (Sun Shine), another supplier of toys, that EMS Asia had approval from BBCW to arrange for Sun Shine to inflate the prices o f goods sold to BBCW and accept from Sun Shine the differences between the true prices and the inflated prices as the operation fees of EMS Asia.
The charge also alleges that BERMAN, with intent to defraud, had induced officers of Sun Shine to inflate the prices of goods and pay the differences to Skyline Limited, a company under his control.
BERMAN further faces five counts of accepting US$49,306.20 (about HK$384,588) in total from Sun Shine for placing purchase orders of goods with Sun Shine on behalf of BBCW.
The alleged offences took place between August 1999 and September 2001.
BBCW had offered full assistance to the ICAC during its enquiries.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Henley Tsun.