Other contracts include a new agreement on operational services and wasteland projects in Queensland`s oil and gas sector, as well as an extension of a Viva Energy contract for maintenance services at its Geelong refinery. Leung Chun-ying made a statement on the same day stressing that the payments of $4 million (HK 50 million) were made as a result of his “resignation from DTZ, not a future benefit that he must provide”. Given that he had left ExCo long before the agreement with the UGL was concluded and that, on the other hand, the agreement took place prior to his election as Chief Executive, “under our current reporting systems, there is no obligation to report payments.” While on October 9, 2014, the New Democrats, a pro-democracy party, filed a complaint with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Minister of Justice had entrusted the Director of Public Prosecutions with responsibility for handling the case. [1] With total revenues of approximately $180 million, maintenance and rolling service contracts include a multi-year extension of maintenance, project and dismantling services with GLNG for its facility in Queensland Curtis Island, as well as an extension of the framework agreement with Esso for the operation and maintenance of maintenance services on some of its offshore platforms at Bass Strait. On October 8, 2014, Fairfax Media, an Australian news agency, published for the first time a detailed report on the aforementioned agreement between Leung Chun-ying and UGL in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This sparked heated public discussion at the city`s pro-democracy protests, often referred to as the “Umbrella Revolution” in Hong Kong. [1] Citizens asked the question of the nature of the payment, potential conflicts of interest, and relevant declarations of interest; and the tax impact. At the 29 October 2014 Council meeting, one member stated that the UGL payments had been made after Leung took office as Executive Chief, resulting in conflicts of interest within the Chief Executive. However, some members noted that under the agreement, UGL had not asked Leung to take on any task on his behalf and had not offered Leung such a task. Others argued, however, that waiving the measures could also be a form of support from the LUC. Referring to the regulation on the prevention of bribes (Chapter 201), it is itself a kind of service to do an act after the acceptance of benefits. [1] In October 2014, it was reported that Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, had signed a contract in 2011 with UGL Limited, an Australian engineering firm, in connection with the acquisition of DTZ Holdings, a UK-listed real estate services company, of which Leung was the company`s director.
By mutual agreement, UGL agreed to pay Leung in two tranches in two tranches in 2012 and 2013, subject to certain conditions. As these payments coincided with Leung Chun-ying`s tenure as Chief Executive between 2012 and 2017, she considered the payment to be related to the type of payment, potential conflicts of interest, relevant reporting systems and tax implications. [1] In January 2017, an article in the Hong Kong Citizen News media showed that the ownership of DTZ Japan Ltd had changed before the end of 2015, after UGL sold all of DTZ`s operations to a consortium in November 2014. According to the report, DTZ UK Bidco Limited, a subsidiary of the consortium, held 100% of DTZ Japan Ltd as of December 31, 2015, although the exact date of the equity transaction was not known. This indicated that Leung Chun-ying could have exercised the put option when selling its interest in DTZ Japan Ltd during the period 2012-2015, in accordance with the clause of the agreement between Leung and UGL.