Chinese businessman Billy Cheung also known as Cheung Yiu Tung, is facing money laundering and other financial crime charges in Rwanda after years of alleged fraudulent business dealings in East Africa. He was arrested on February 4, 2025, upon arrival from Dubai and is currently seeking bail while prosecutors push for a 30-day provisional detention.
Cheung Yiu Tung’s financial troubles span both Rwanda and Uganda, with debts amounting to US$51.6 million and Rwf 63,333,422. His assets, including the Century Park Hotel Kigali, Billy Bistro, villas, and land in Nyarutarama, have been placed on auction in Rwanda to recover US$7,075,050 owed to creditors, including Ugandan businessman John Fred Freeman Kiyimba and The New Park Lock-Up Owners’ Association Limited. The Ugandan court rulings against Cheung Yiu Tung were upheld by Rwandan courts, allowing the enforcement of debt recovery.
The auction, overseen by Professional Court Bailiff Me. Gategeko Aimable was set to take place in three rounds between December 2024 and January 2025, with properties valued between Rwf 248 million and Rwf 4.9 billion. However, Cheung Yiu Tung’s total assets appear to be worth less than US$25 million, leaving a US$26 million shortfall.
Cheung Yiu Tung’s legal team, led by Fountain Advocates and Faustin Murangwa, argues that the case against him is a civil debt dispute, not a criminal matter. They claim that Ugandan court rulings were based on manipulated documents and that accusations of money laundering lack merit.
Prosecutors however, assert that Cheung Yiu Tung defrauded over 200 businesspeople in Uganda, obtaining US$23 million for a modern market project he never completed before fleeing to Rwanda. Investigations have also uncovered property registration irregularities at the Land Center, including the unexplained removal of caveats on assets held by KCB Bank Rwanda, which claims US$44.6 million and Rwf 63,333,422 from Cheung Yiu Tung. The charge sheet entails serious cases against him including fraud, money laundering, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds and breach of trust.
The court is set to rule on Cheung Yiu Tung’s bail application on February 25, 2025. Meanwhile, his creditors and legal opponents continue to battle for control over his assets, making this one of the most high-profile financial crime cases in the region.
