An investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Akai’s asse...

own. The settlement lets Ting walk free from any current or future litigation, the South China Morning Post reported based on confidential documents it uncovered in the course of litigation involving Ting and another of his firms, Semi-Tech, in the U.S. The agreement between Ting and the liquidator, RSM Nelson Wheeler, absolves Ting from liability for the $1 billion owed to creditors when his flagship company, Akai Holdings, folded in 2000, leaving behind Hong Kong’s largest-ever corporate loss of $1.72 billion. It owed creditors more than $1 billion when a High Court in Hong Kong ordered Akai into liquidation in Aug. 2000. At the time, Hong Kong financial authorities raised questions about alleged asset-stripping and the “de facto surrender” of the CE company to Hong Kong-based Grande Group. Earlier, in May 2002, the liquidator advised creditors not to expect much of a pay-out, as Akai was an empty shell. Ting vanished from Hong Kong in late 2000, and no information about his whereabouts was made public, although documents discovered by the Hong Kong newspaper suggest the liquidators and possibly others were in touch with Ting or his lawyers. He re-emerged in Hong Kong last May. Under the reported agreement, RSM Nelson Wheeler will forgo any claims or legal action against Ting if he withdraws his opposition to a sale of Akai’s stock-market listing shell, worth about $1.5 million. According to the report, the deal was struck in Dec. 2002 on the eve of a sale of Akai’s listing shell to Hong Kong clothing retailer Hang Ten Group. Ting, through 2 companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, tried to block the sale by voting his nearly 110 million Akai shares by proxy against the listing proposal. Then, he agreed to drop his opposition for a promise that the liquidators wouldn’t sue or “otherwise pursue any claims” against him. According to the U.S. court document, the liquidators also agreed to drop any further investigations that might lead to legal proceedings against Ting. As a result of the agreement and sale of Akai’s listing shell, creditors and the liquidator got $1.5 million in cash and 2.1 billion Hang Ten shares -- worth about a penny each at the time. Akai shareholders got 300 million Hang Ten shares and Ting was awarded $80,000 for legal costs, the newspaper said. RSM Nelson Wheeler declined comment on the paper’s questions, citing a confidentiality agreement whereby only the parties involved and Akai’s committee of inspection could view the details -- barring a court order. That might be a possibility, as the Akai debacle remains an unquiet grave for Hong Kong’s financial community and regulatory authorities. The latter were not aware of the deal between the liquidator and Ting. “We need to look at this. There are certain checks we have to do,” Official Receiver Eamonn O'Connell told the newspaper. David Webb, a corporate governance activist in Hong Kong, said: “The settlement is being reached for what appears to be a small amount of benefit to shareholders against a huge potential claim against Mr Ting. One has to wonder whether the liquidators had a financial interest in the back-door listing proceeding.”