HONG KONG, July 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Carson Wen, Chairman of Sancus Group (“Sancus”), today provides an update on an ongoing employment dispute with a former employee of Financial Holdings (BVI) Limited (“FHL”), a Special Purpose Vehicle (“SPV”) that was established by Sancus in 2015.
In October 2015, Chad C. Holm was appointed as the Deputy Chief Executive of FHL and Chief Executive of Bank of Asia. After only nine months in the role, Mr. Holm’s employment was terminated on June 29, 2016 as a result of several serious breaches of his Executive Service Agreement with FHL, including discovery that Mr. Holm had engaged in activities, without prior consent, that were similar to or competed with activities carried out by his employer, including planning the setting up of a competing bank. These are the subject matter of litigation in the Hong Kong High Court filed by FHL in October 2016 where Chad Holm, along with two others, are co-Defendants in legal proceedings commenced for breach of contract and fiduciary duties. The Hong Kong proceedings are continuing.
Following his dismissal, it also came to light that Mr. Holm had been involved in four prior litigation cases, including one as a defendant in a High Court Civil Action from a major international credit card company for over US$500,000, none of which had been disclosed by Mr. Holm prior to his employment at FHL. It is understood that Mr. Holm is still not gainfully employed.
After dismissal, Mr. Holm brought a case against Mr. Wen, Mr. Wen’s wife and Sancus Financial Holdings Limited regarding a shareholding matter in the BVI Commercial Court. After the judgement by the trial judge finding in Mr. Holm’s favour, an appeal was lodged by Mr. Wen with The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. In April 2020, the court upheld the lower court ruling, noting that “the threshold for a Court of Appeal to overturn findings of fact is exceedingly high”.
Mr. Wen is taking steps to lodge an appeal with The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (often referred to as the Privy Council) in the United Kingdom, for review.
Commenting, Mr. Wen said: “It is very unfortunate that Chad Holm has chosen to pursue a litigious course of action as opposed to engaging in constructive dialogue. To protect the interests of my colleagues and shareholders, all of whom have been invaluable in building Bank of Asia since Chad Holm’s departure, I will continue to pursue all legal options to set the record straight and preserve the hard-earned value that has been created since his employment was terminated.”
In the years following Mr. Holm’s dismissal, Bank of Asia was awarded the first banking license in more than two decades by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (“BVI FSC”) in March 2017. Bank of Asia is successfully on-boarding clients and is placed well to address the growing needs of offshore companies, their owners, individuals and families, providing core banking services to offshore companies as well as trusts and high net worth individuals and families from around the world.
Notes to editors
Carson Wen is the Founder of Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited and BOA Financial Group Limited. He is also the Chairman of the Sancus Group of companies, which has investments in policy driven sectors such as new energy, logistics, finance and technology. He has practiced law for over 30 years at his own Hong Kong partnership and subsequently at leading global law firms. Mr. Wen has been named as a leading adviser on Chinese law, mergers & acquisitions and capital markets work in Who’s Who of the Law, Asia Pacific Legal 500, AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers, Chambers Asia and China’s Top 200. He is also named in the International Who’s Who and Who’s Who of the World.
Mr. Wen was a three-term Deputy to the National People’s Congress of China, which is the PRC’s national legislature and constitutionally the highest organ of state power, representing Hong Kong. He is also a Justice of the Peace of Hong Kong and held various public service appointments in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
Mr. Wen is a member of the Executive Committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) and former Chairman of its Task Force on Green Business. He is also a Director of the Pacific Basin Economic Council. He is also, inter alia, a Founding Director of the China M&A Association.
Mr. Wen was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for his contribution to economic ties between Hong Kong, Mainland China and the rest of the world.
Mr. Wen obtained his B.A. from Columbia University, where he majored in economics, and B.A. and M.A. from Balliol College, Oxford University, where he studied law and was Younger Prizeman in Law for 1976.
The Sancus Group
The Sancus Group, a private investment vehicle based in Hong Kong, was established in 2007. It has diverse business interests including new energy, logistics, finance and technology. The firm works closely with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity and other professional bodies in order to grasp global business opportunities. Leveraging its strong relationships in China and across the Asia Pacific, the firm see its role as catering to the needs of the developing world through focusing on necessities such as new energy, financial services and food.
Sancus Group is an indirect shareholder in Bank of Asia via Sancus Financial Holdings Limited. Bank of Asia (www.bankasia.com) is one of the world’s first fully digital global cross-border banks.
About Bank of Asia
Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited is a fully digital global cross-border bank, established to address the growing financial needs of offshore companies, their owners and multinational conglomerates. Headquartered in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Bank of Asia was awarded the first banking license in more than two decades by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (“BVI FSC”) in March 2017.
Bank of Asia’s vision is to change the way people bank through delivering cost effective, efficient, fast and user-friendly financial digital solutions, underpinned by innovative technologies and robust quantitative analytics in the Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering process. Through its affiliated group of companies in Hong Kong, Bank of Asia will be able to offer customers wealth management, investment banking and advisory services in a highly innovative and client-centric manner.
More information can be found at www.bankasia.com.