George Tan, also known as George Tan Soon-gin, is a Hong Kong-based former businessman who is known for his role and involvement in the Carrian Group and the scandal that led to its collapse.
Tan moved to Hong Kong in 1972, and first started working as a civil engineering manager at a property firm called EDA Investments, a big property firm that was owned by the Chung family. Eventually, Tan began buying properties at a cheap price, during a time when the city was experiencing a property price slump. In 1975, Tan teamed up with a member of the Chung family to start up a company, and went on to buy a piece of land that is currently the site of Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital for HK$2.5 million, and sold it to the Government of Hong Kong a year later for HK$6.2 million.
Involvement with Carrian
In 1979, Tan bought a controlling stake in a company named Mai Hon Holdings, and renamed the company to Carrian. While Carrian was involved in a number of businesses, its core business was in real estate. Carrian became known in Hong Kong after a subsidiary of the company bought Gammon House in 1980 for nearly HK$1 billion, and then sold it for HK$1.7 billion. Its rapid expansion led to rumors over the source of its capital, with various rumors speculating the capital came from Imelda Marcos, Gosbank, and a lumber corporation in Borneo. Carrian would later go on a buying spree of various businesses in the 1980s, including Cargo ships and shares of companies in a variety of industries, leading some commentators to say the company is akin to a "greedy housewife entering a supermarket, and placing items she needs into her basket without regards to price". The company's business operations eventually encompassed shipping, travel, and taxi transportation.
Scandal and arrest
Carrian Group's fortunes began to sour in 1982. The downfall began when a man named Chung Cheng Man, a major partner of Carrian and member of the Chung family whose company Tan worked for after his arrival to Hong Kong, parted ways with Carrian due to his discovery of major debt accumulation from Carrian's business ventures. In return, Tan gave Chung a generous severance deal because Chung had knowledge of improprieties allegedly committed by Tan. This, along with a general economic downturn, led to a strained financial state for Carrian. The company eventually collapsed in a financial scandal. Tan, along with a business associate, was arrested in October 1983 by Hong Kong authorities for making false and misleading statements. Tan was also accused by a government prosecutor of overstaying his visa and illegally living in Hong Kong for over a decade. During the trial of Malaysian Chinese businessman Mak Foon Than over the 1983 murder of Bank Bumiputera Malaysia Berhad employee Jalil Ibrahim, Mak accused Tan of ordering the killing due to Jalil's alleged attempt to block a loan to Carrian. Tan's attorneys denied Mak's accusations. Tan's legal troubles lasted 13 years, and included an acquittal in on fraud charges in 1987 following a 19-month trial. He was jailed for three years in 1996 after admitting to his involvement in a conspiracy surrounding US$238 million in secret loans obtained from Bank Bumiputera Malaysia Berhad. He was released from custody in 1998.
Later life
Following his release from custody, Tan was involved in a legal dispute with the son of Hang Seng Bank co-founder :zh:林炳炎|Lam Bing Yim, Rogerio Lam, over five antiques from the Song and Qing dynasties era that were lent to Tan during the 1980s. As recently as 2014, Tan was noted to be living in semi-retirement at Clearwater Bay.
Books
Media portrayal
The character Gordon Wing Muk-tong in 2020 TVB drama series Of Greed and Ants is noted to be based on Tan.
