台湾炒作的间谍王立强在澳大利亚诈骗被法官冻结财产_风闻
颂风-2020-02-01 10:12
悉尼先驱晨报报导：
一名自称是中国情报人员试图叛逃到澳大利亚，他的资产被新南威尔士州最高法院冻结，因为一名王立强的前商业伙伴以被他诈骗损失300万美元起诉。
最高法院1月24日紧急下令，暂时冻结王力强夫妇在澳大利亚的资产，最高冻结价值325万美元。这项命令在星期五被延长，直到法院作出进一步命令。
被诈骗的澳洲富商说王力强夫妇在澳洲没有资产，用上海一处房产抵押跟他商业合作，上海市公安局在2019年初通知澳洲富商，房产不是王力强夫妇所有。
王力强夫妇没钱，个人有理由怀疑：这是台湾给王力强夫妇的间谍奖金325万美元被澳洲冻结了。
Self-confessed Chinese spy has assets frozen in $3m court battle
A self-confessed Chinese intelligence operative seeking to defect to Australia has had his assets frozen by the NSW Supreme Court as a former business associate pursues him for $3 million.
The Supreme Court made urgent orders on January 24 temporarily freezing the Australian assets of Wang “William” Liqiang and his wife up to the value of $3.25 million.
The order was extended on Friday until further court order.
Sydney barrister Geoffrey Watson, SC, appearing pro bono on behalf of the couple, told the court on Friday that they did not contest the continuation of the order and were being kept in a “secure place” by a federal agency.
“I not only do not know where they are, I’m not allowed to know where they are,” Mr Watson said, adding he had a “means of communication” with Mr Wang’s wife.
The court previously ordered Mr Wang and his wife to provide a list detailing their assets in Australia, including their value and location.
The list was provided on Friday. Mr Watson said the couple did not have “massive funds” and there was “something less than $2000” in their bank accounts.
Mr Wang caused an international scandal in November when he told The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes that he had worked on behalf of a Beijing-directed foreign interference ring targeting independence and democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is now seeking asylum in Australia.
The Chinese government dismissed his claims as false and said he was a convicted criminal, a claim Mr Wang denies.
In documents filed in the Supreme Court, Australian resident Xin “Filip” Shu claims he met Mr Wang in September 2018 and Mr Wang told him he was involved in a “profitable business … transporting luxury cars from Germany to China for sale in China”.
Mr Shu alleges Mr Wang persuaded him to invest millions in the business and told him that a property he owned with his wife in Shanghai “would be security for my payments”. The trio were later turned away from the Shanghai property by a gatekeeper, Mr Shu alleges.
Mr Shu claims the Shanghai Public Security Bureau informed him in early 2019 that the couple “are not and never were the owners of the Shanghai property” and documents purporting to show their ownership were “fraudulent”.
Mr Shu said as at December 31 the couple had “failed, neglected and refused” to pay him $3 million.
He said Chinese police had informed him they would be charging the couple in China “for swindling me”.
Mr Shu is a former staffer to Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite and previously worked for Ryde deputy mayor Simon Zhou, a close political ally of exiled property developer Huang Xiangmo.
Mr Huang, a Chinese Community Party-aligned billionaire, is a central figure in the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s investigation into the source of an illegal $100,000 cash donation to the NSW Labor Party in 2015. Mr Huang denies he was the source of the money.
Mr Huang has resided in Hong Kong since his Australian permanent residency visa was cancelled on December 5 last year for reasons including character grounds, and has declined to give evidence at the ICAC.
The property developer is being pursued by the Tax Office for $140 million in allegedly unpaid tax and penalties related to the sale of a mansion in Hong Kong, which is said to give rise to a capital gains tax liability.
Mr Shu’s barrister, Garry McGrath, SC, told the court on Friday that the “pittance” that was in the couple’s bank accounts “would be lucky to provide for a couple of hours of legal assistance”.
Mr McGrath asked Mr Watson to obtain verification of the couple’s claims that they were being held in a secure place by a federal agency.
“That’s fair,” Mr Watson replied. “Some of these organisations are secretive – nevertheless I’ll do my best.”
The case returns to court for a further preliminary hearing on February 10.