(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- Shares in Greentown China Holdings slumped today after Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body charged the Chinese property developer’s former board chairman with allegedly accepting HKD20 million (USD2.5 million) in bribes in connection with the acquisition of a stake in a real estate firm.

Greentown’s share price [HKG: 3900] closed down 3.6 percent at HKD6.14 (USD0.75). The stock has lost 28 percent of its value so far this year.

Zhang Yadong, who stepped down in March last year due to work arrangements, allegedly conspired with several people, including a shareholder of a Dalian-based real estate firm, to accept bribes of HKD20 million between January 2020 and March 2023, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said today. The alleged arrangement enabled Hangzhou-based Greentown to acquire an equity stake in the property developer.

Zhang has been charged with one count of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, in violation of Section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and Section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance, the ICAC said. The case is scheduled to be brought before the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today.

Zhang joined Greentown as chief executive officer in May 2018 and succeeded the company’s founder, Song Weiping, as chairman of the board in July 2019. Before that, the 58-year-old served as deputy mayor of Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province, overseeing urban construction and management.

The charges follow an earlier announcement by Greentown that the ICAC had executed a search warrant at the company’s main office in Hong Kong on June 17. The firm said the probe concerned corruption allegations involving an independent individual who had previously served as a director, sparking market speculation about the case. The ICAC announcement has now shed light on the matter.

Founded in 1995 as a private real estate developer, Greentown became a state-controlled company in 2014 when China Communications Construction Group, a state-owned infrastructure giant, acquired a stake in the business. The group held approximately 29 percent of Greentown as of June 30.

Greentown has come under pressure from the downturn in China’s property market. Its net profit plunged 61 percent in the first half from a year earlier to CNY81.7 million (USD12.2 million), while revenue sank 26 percent to CNY39.5 billion (USD5.9 billion), according to the firm’s latest financial report.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor