The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) said in a statement on Wednesday that it has come to the conclusion that the Macau Foundation (FM) Council of Trustees’ decision in April to donate 100 million yuan (120 million patacas) to Jinan University in Guangzhou did not contravene the law.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On is both the council’s chairman and a deputy chairman of the university’s board of directors. The board also includes several members of the FM Council of Trustees.
On May 12, the grassroots Macau Youth Dynamics group handed a petition to the CCAC, urging the graft buster to check whether Chui and the council had followed all the necessary procedures to avoid any conflict of interest.
The commission said in the statement that the council’s decision did not contravene the law, adding that the donation was in line with the foundation’s stipulated objectives.
The foundation aims to “promote, develop or study cultural, social, economic, educational, scientific, academic and charitable activities”, according to a law regulating the setting-up of the public body.
According to the CCAC statement, the grassroots group alleged that the donation was tainted by “conflicts of interest” and “influence peddling”. The statement said that the accusations were “groundless”, adding that neither the chief executive nor his fellow council members in question were the university’s “representatives” as defined by Article 251 of the Civil Code. The CCAC has archived the case, the statement added.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
