Dow Jones board member suspected of leak is prominent in Hong Kong

Keith Bradsher of The New York Times profiles Dow Jones & Co. board member David Li for Thursday’s paper. Li is being looked at as the possible leak of News Corp.’s $5 billion offer to buy the owner of The Wall Street Journal that led to two Hong Kong residents being charged with insider trading earlier this week.

Bradsher wrote, “Mr. Li, a longtime director of Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and has denied leaking any information about a pending bid by the News Corporation for Dow Jones. But people close to Dow Jones said that the company had opened an internal review of his actions, in a case that highlights the dangers that accompany the perks of being a company director.

“The case has expanded beyond the Dow Jones review, as both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the attorney general for New York State are investigating trading in Dow Jones stock and options in the days before the News Corporation bid was made public.”

Later, he added, “The 68-year-old Mr. Li is a leading member of one of the most prominent families in business and politics in Hong Kong, where family connections are crucial. Mr. Li’s brother, Arthur, is Hong Kong’s education secretary and a cabinet official; their cousin, Andrew Li, is the chief justice of Hong Kong’s highest court.

“One of David Li’s uncles, Ronald, was once the chairman of the Hong Kong stock exchange. Another uncle, Simon, is a former judge who ran unsuccessfully to become Hong Kong’s chief executive in 1996.”

Read more here.