南华早报的转帖:
How the case unfolded
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 14 April, 2010, 12:00am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 14 April, 2010, 12:00am
January 28, 2003 Steven Cheung Ng-sheong and his wife indicted in Seattle on charges of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud US government. Ordered to appear in court on February 20. Indictment alleges that the couple own 11 companies, including West Coast International and Celinal, but hid stakes in bid to avoid US taxes.
February 17 Cheungs issue statement saying they will not appear in court, believing they will not get fair trial.
February 20 US judge issues arrest warrants for them in Washington state. Couple reportedly flee to mainland from Hong Kong. The mainland, unlike Hong Kong, has no extradition treaty with the US.
February 25, 2004 Washington state files consumer fraud charges against Cheungs as owners of Thesaurus Fine Arts, a defunct Seattle store known to sell fake Asian antiquities.
October 28, 2005 The consumer fraud case reaches a settlement in which Thesaurus Fine Arts agrees to reimburse customers, and also to pay about US$350,000 in fines and attorneys' fees. The Cheungs' names are dropped from the suit as part of the settlement.
March 1, 2010 A defendant in a gallery theft trial testifies that Cheung owned three paintings alleged to have been stolen and gave them to the defendants as a reward for performing illegal tasks such as secretly importing paintings to the mainland. The gallery, Dandelion Fine Arts, is owned by West Coast International.
April 13 In his judgment, a Hong Kong judge affirms Cheung's ownership and control of Dandelion and West Coast International, the first time a Hong Kong authority has directly linked Cheung to details of the 2003 US indictment.