The charitable foundation established by Nina Wang, the Hong Kong tycoon, fired its first shot in the battle for her $3.9bn (€2.6bn, £2bn) estate on Friday, taking aim at a reclusive businessman who also claims to be her heir.
The Chinachem Charitable Foundation filed court papers in Hong Kong arguing that Ms Wang, who died last April, might have been too ill in late 2006 to approve a will that bequeathed her estate to Tony Chan. Ms Wang was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.
The foundation is controlled by Ms Wang’s siblings and two executives at Chinachem, the property company once headed by the larger-than-life tycoon. It is the main beneficiary of an earlier 2002 will that mandates that the foundation use part of Ms Wang’s estate to fund a Chinese version of the Nobel prize.
The filing brings the foundation and Mr Chan a step closer to a repeat of Hong Kong’s biggest inheritance battle.
Ms Wang and her father-in-law vied for control of Chinachem after her husband, Teddy, who had been missing for almost a decade, was declared dead in 1999. Ms Wang won that battle in 2005, making her Asia’s richest woman.
The fate of the Chinachem fortune has once again captivated Hong Kong. This time the intrigue revolves around the enigmatic Mr Chan, who only emerged from anonymity after Ms Wang’s death.
Mr Chan, 49, has yet to make a public appearance since the case began last year and is widely reputed to have been Ms Wang’s feng shui adviser. That is disputed by Mr Chan’s friends and lawyer. They describe him as a successful property entrepreneur and businessman who also has a strong interest in the ancient Chinese art, but was never hired by Ms Wang to advise her on the subject.
“He had a close and important friendship with her,” said Raymond Chu, a friend of Mr Chan. “Nina was friendly with his family too.” Mr Chu, who says Mr Chan and Ms Wang met through mutual friends over dinner in the early 1990s, also describes his friend as an epicurean with a passion for cars, boats and aircraft.
Jonathan Midgley, Mr Chan’s lawyer, said his client hoped to avoid a prolonged court battle and was open to a settlement with the foundation. A formal trial date has not been set.