Carson Yeung, the Asian owner of football club Birmingham City, has reportedly been sentenced to six years in prison by a Hong Kong court for money laundering.
The businessman was convicted of five charges relating to 55 million pounds passing through his bank accounts between 2001 and 2007, although he claimed that he had accumulated the wealth through stock trading, business ventures in mainland China, a hair salon and gambling.
According to the BBC, sentencing Yeung at Hong Kong District Court, the judge said that the sentence must include an element of deterrence to discourage those who are in a position to exploit the system, adding that the law will come down with full force on such individuals.
The judge also said that maintaining the integrity of the banking system is of paramount importance if Hong Kong is to remain an international finance centre.
Yeung's rise from humble hairdresser to wealthy owner of a British football club has attracted much media attention as the case came just two years after the city introduced new laws against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Yeung bought Birmingham City in October 2009 for 81.5 million pounds from David Sullivan and David Gold, now the co-owners of West Ham United, the report added.