Hong Kong's billionaire Tse Sui-luen, founder of the listed Tse Sui Luen Jewelry (TSL), and his son Tommy Tse have been put behind the bars after a court found them guilty of paying illegal kickbacks to travel agencies.

Delivering a 230-page verdict in two separate sessions on Thursday and Friday at the end of a marathon court hearing, Judge Kevin Browne of the District Court said the Tses and three other senior managers of the jewelry empire were guilty of 8 conspiracy counts, including conspiracy to cook books, offer illegal advantages, theft and defrauding tax authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Tse Sui-luen, 72, and Tommy Tse, 40, together with the other three defendants, were remanded in custody on Thursday. Tommy Tse asked for a bail Friday but was refused.

The court has adjourned the case until May 6 when the penalty was expected.

The court heard a scheme codenamed "the James Bond Project" by the culprits had seen the company offer about 170 million Hong Kong dollars (21.79 million U.S. dollars) in illegal kickbacks to travel agents for bringing customers to company showrooms.

The payments were made between 1996 and 2005 through offshore companies set up to channel the money out of Hong Kong before remitting it to local travel agents.

The judge said that evidences showed the Tses were aware of the scheme and that Tommy Tse had implemented the project with conspiracy or assistance from the others.

Tommy Tse, company chairman since 2001, and his deputy Peter Gerardus Van Weerenburg attempted to defraud the Inland Revenue Department by making false representations during its investigations into TSL's commission payments in 2002.

"Lies had become the corporate policy," Judge Browne said in the verdict.

The Tses were also found to have conspired with others to steal half a million HK dollars (64,103 U.S. dollars) and 2.71 million HK dollars (0.35 million U.S. dollars), respectively, from the company between February and December 2002 for their own use.

Tommy Tse returned 1.82 million HK dollars (0.23 million U.S. dollars) to TSL via his lawyer on January 8, 2003, a month after the theft came to light.

A lawyer for Tse Sui-luen told reporters on Thursday that his client would appeal.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2008)