Former BBCW director faces court for alleged bribery and fraud
2002-3-18
A former director of BBC Worldwide Limited (BBCW), charged by the ICAC for alleged bribery and fraud over the placing of purchase orders for toys, appeared in Eastern Magistracy today (Monday).
BBCW is a subsidiary company wholly owned by British Broadcasting Corporation.
No plea was taken from Jeffrey Everard TAYLOR, 41. Magistrate Mr Robert McNair adjourned the case until March 26, 2002 for consolidation with the case of two directors of a former sourcing agent of BBCW.
One of the three charges against TAYLOR alleged him of having conspired with Daniel Jonathan BERMAN, Sydney EDELS and others to defraud BBCW by dishonestly:
- causing and permitting toy suppliers of BBCW to falsely inflate the prices of goods sold to BBCW on the relevant invoices presented to BBCW for payment;
- falsely representing to BBCW that the falsely inflated prices stated in such invoices were true prices;
- causing BBCW to accept the falsely inflated prices on the invoices as the true prices;
- causing BBCW to pay to the toy suppliers sums as stated in the falsely inflated invoices; and
- causing the toy suppliers to pay the differences between the true prices and the falsely inflated prices to either of three companies under BERMAN’s control, namely Tristar Holdings Group Limited, Anker Limited and Skyline Corporation Limited.
The second charge alleged TAYLOR of, being an agent of BBCW, having conspired with BERMAN and EDELS to offer advantages to TAYLOR for causing or permitting the placing of purchasing orders of goods for and on behalf of BBCW with G.C. & CO., Ming Tat Indus trial Co. and Sun Shine Toys Limited by BERMAN.
The remaining charge alleged that TAYLOR had conspired with BERMAN and EDELS to deal with US$379,652.98 and HK$3,058,439.77, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the money, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represented the proce eds of an indictable offence.
The alleged offences took place between August 1999 and September 2001.
BERMAN, 31, director of EMS Asia Limited (EMS Asia), and EDELS, 59, director of Eurasia Management Services Limited (EMS), were charged by the ICAC late last month with a total of eight alleged offences.
While EMS was a toy sourcing agent of BBCW, EMS Asia is a company formed by EMS in Hong Kong.
TAYLOR was granted cash bail of $500,000 by the court. He was ordered to surrender all travel documents, not to leave Hong Kong, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses, to reside at reported address, and to inform the ICAC of any change of address w ithin 24 hours.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Bianca Cheng, assisted by ICAC officer Henley Tsun.
BBCW is a subsidiary company wholly owned by British Broadcasting Corporation.
No plea was taken from Jeffrey Everard TAYLOR, 41. Magistrate Mr Robert McNair adjourned the case until March 26, 2002 for consolidation with the case of two directors of a former sourcing agent of BBCW.
One of the three charges against TAYLOR alleged him of having conspired with Daniel Jonathan BERMAN, Sydney EDELS and others to defraud BBCW by dishonestly:
- causing and permitting toy suppliers of BBCW to falsely inflate the prices of goods sold to BBCW on the relevant invoices presented to BBCW for payment;
- falsely representing to BBCW that the falsely inflated prices stated in such invoices were true prices;
- causing BBCW to accept the falsely inflated prices on the invoices as the true prices;
- causing BBCW to pay to the toy suppliers sums as stated in the falsely inflated invoices; and
- causing the toy suppliers to pay the differences between the true prices and the falsely inflated prices to either of three companies under BERMAN’s control, namely Tristar Holdings Group Limited, Anker Limited and Skyline Corporation Limited.
The second charge alleged TAYLOR of, being an agent of BBCW, having conspired with BERMAN and EDELS to offer advantages to TAYLOR for causing or permitting the placing of purchasing orders of goods for and on behalf of BBCW with G.C. & CO., Ming Tat Indus trial Co. and Sun Shine Toys Limited by BERMAN.
The remaining charge alleged that TAYLOR had conspired with BERMAN and EDELS to deal with US$379,652.98 and HK$3,058,439.77, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the money, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represented the proce eds of an indictable offence.
The alleged offences took place between August 1999 and September 2001.
BERMAN, 31, director of EMS Asia Limited (EMS Asia), and EDELS, 59, director of Eurasia Management Services Limited (EMS), were charged by the ICAC late last month with a total of eight alleged offences.
While EMS was a toy sourcing agent of BBCW, EMS Asia is a company formed by EMS in Hong Kong.
TAYLOR was granted cash bail of $500,000 by the court. He was ordered to surrender all travel documents, not to leave Hong Kong, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses, to reside at reported address, and to inform the ICAC of any change of address w ithin 24 hours.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Bianca Cheng, assisted by ICAC officer Henley Tsun.