Hong Kong's Court of Appeal overturns tycoon Jimmy Lai's fraud conviction and sentencing

Hong Kong's Court of Appeal has overturned the conviction and jail sentence of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai for a 2022 fraud case involving his Apple Daily headquarters. The ruling reverses the lower court’s five-year, nine-month sentence.

Jessie Pang and James Pomfret/Reuters

26 February 2026 at 02:39:39

FILE PHOTO: Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily arrives at West Kowloon Magistrates's Courts to face charges related to an illegal vigil assembly commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in Hong Kong, China November 3, 2020.

Tyrone Siu/Reuters

Hong Kong's Court of Appeal on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling against pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's conviction and sentence for a fraud offence.

Lai was sentenced in December 2022 to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of breaching the lease terms of his Apple Daily newspaper's headquarters by concealing the operation of a private company, Dico Consultants Ltd, in the building.

-Jessie Pang and James Pomfret/Reuters

Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal has overturned the fraud conviction and prison sentence of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, originally imposed for breaching lease terms at his Apple Daily headquarters.