Hong Kong democracy advocate and media tycoon Jimmy Lai scored a legal victory Thursday when an appeals court in the Chinese Special Administrative Region overturned one of several guilty verdicts against him.
Lai is currently serving a 20-year sentence on other charges brought under China’s National Security Law, including conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials — both of which he denies.
The conviction overturned Thursday was related to a fraud case in which prosecutors accused Lai and a business partner of having breached a commercial rental contract when Lai’s now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper allowed a consulting firm that he ran to use some space in the building.
The lease stipulated that the space was to be used exclusively for publishing and printing.
What did the Hong Kong court say?
In its decision, the appeals court wrote that…
CLICK HERE to read the FULL Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai fraud conviction overturned – DW.com article.
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.