SCMP- The mystery surrounding the identity of a Hong Kong-based diamond buyer who now owns three of the world’s most expensive gems has been revealed: billionaire fugitive Joseph Lau Luen-hung has confirmed to the South China Morning Post that he was the buyer of the diamonds, and that he had renamed them after his seven-year-old daughter Josephine.
The rare and flawless 12.03 carat “Blue Moon Diamond” sold on Wednesday for 48.6 million Swiss francs (US$48.4 million), setting world records for any gemstone at auction, Sotheby’s said.
Lau, the former chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings, is listed by Forbes as the sixth richest man in Hong Kong and 114th wealthiest globally, with estimated assets worth US$9.8 billion as of November.
He is also a fugitive, after being jailed in absentia in Macau in March last year for his part in a bribes-for-land racket involving Ao Man-long, the most corrupt public official ever brought to justice in the city’s history. He received a five-year jail term, but has not served one day in prison because the former Portuguese enclave does not have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong.
Macau’s Court of Second Instance yesterday rejected appeals by Lau and Steven Lo Kit-sing against their bribery and money laundering convictions. The court upheld sentences of five years and three months against the pair.
The sale came only one day after Lau paid 28.7 million Swiss francs for a magnificent 16.08 carat pink diamond at Christie’s.
The pink stone was promptly renamed the “Sweet Josephine”. The blue has been renamed “The Blue Moon of Josephine”.
Josephine’s mother is Lau’s girlfriend, called Chan Hoi-wan, a former entertainment reporter.
The cushion-shaped blue stone, mounted on a ring, has the top grading of fancy vivid blue. A pre-sale estimate put its value at between US$35 million and US$55 million.
“It is a new record price for any gemstone and per carat,” David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s international jewellery division, told a packed showroom in Geneva that erupted into applause on Wednesday.
Lau and fellow Hong Kong property developer Steven Lo Kit-sing were each given jail sentences of five years and three months by Macau’s Court of First Instance last year after being found guilty of corruption and money laundering. But they will not serve any time unless they return to the city voluntarily.
The court found that Lau and Lo offered a HK$20 million bribe to disgraced public works chief Ao Man-long to secure the site for their La Scala luxury development.
Lau is also known as a collector of artworks and wine. His passion for art was revealed when he snapped up Andy Warhol’s famous painting of Mao Zedong for US$17.4 million and Paul Gauguin’s 1892 painting Te Poipoi (The Morning) for US$39.2 million – the highest amount paid by a Hongkonger for an artwork.
Lau paid a record HK$1.4 million for a car number plate bearing the characters “1 LOVE U” during a Transport Department auction of personalised plates in 2006.
The plate was used on a Mercedes-Benz for his partners, according to local media reports.