'No Timetable For Release Of Frozen Law Firm Funds'

The Law Society said on Tuesday that it cannot tell when clients of a law firm it ordered to shut down will be able to get their money back, despite demands for it to speed up the process and unfreeze the funds.

Wong, Fung & Co. was ordered to shut last month, after the regulating body found a former clerk there had allegedly misappropriated money belonging to clients.

The society said the firm was also suspected of committing other serious breaches, including overdrawing on clients' accounts and allowing unqualified people to sign documents.

The firm's accounts were frozen as the society reported the case to the police.

But clients affected have been complaining about the abrupt shutdown and have demanded the return of some HK$100 million locked in the accounts.

Amirali Nasir, a vice-president of the Law Society, said during an online press conference that he could not tell when the clients would be able to get their money back, due to the legal procedure involved and the disorganised records at the law firm in question.

"The manner of release of the clients' money will need to be subject to the authorisation by court. It has to be after the intervention agent has completed verifying the claim, he will then make an application to the court," he said.

"However, because of the volume of files, and the records are very disorganised, the intervention agent is unable to give a realistic timetable of the process at this stage."

The society stressed that it has asked the authorities to offer assistance to the clients affected by the shutdown.