Former Wardley boss Ewan Launder, who in Marcháwasáfound guilty of accepting a HK$4.5 million ($578,000) bribe 20 years ago, has managed to have his sentencing delayed on grounds of a possible medical problem.
While chief executive of Wardley, the then merchant banking arm of HSBC, Launder accepted the payment from Carrian Group boss George Tan Soon-gin in connection with loans extended to Carrian by Wardley. A warrant was put out for the arrest of Launder, now 64 years old, 11 years ago and he has subsequently been fighting extradition from the UK.
Since that warrant was issued, Carrian-related fraudsters Lorrain Osman, former chairman of Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF), Rais Saniman, also a former director of BMF, and Tan himself have all played the illness card prior to being jailed for between one and five years.
