Ex-chair of top HK developer arrested Walter Kwok has sought to place the blame for Sun Hung Kai's relationship with Mr Hui squarely on his brothers' shoulders Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's largest property developer, said on Friday that its former chairman Walter Kwok had been arrested as part of an investigation into the company by the city's anti-corruption agency. This follows the arrests on March 29 of his two younger brothers. Rafael Hui, Hong Kong's former chief secretary, was also arrested in March, the highest-level civil servant to be put under arrest in the history of the city's Independent Commission Against Corruption. None of the four men have been formally charged. The investigation comes at a time of unprecedented public anger at the city's large developers. Over the past couple of years a limited supply of new land for development and demand from wealthy mainland investors have driven property prices to levels that are unaffordable for middle class buyers. On Wednesday, in an interview with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Walter Kwok sought to place the blame for Sun Hung Kai's relationship with Mr Hui squarely on his brothers" shoulders. Mr Kwok also suggested a reopening of the battle for control of the group, claiming that he had legal documents showing he still held a one-third stake. The Kwok family engaged in a bitter squabble four years ago over the trust that controls the HK$245bn (US$32bn) Sun Hung Kai empire. The younger two brothers removed Walter Kwok as a beneficiary of the trust. In that dispute, Kwong Siu-hing, the Kwok family matriarch, stepped in and Walter Kwok was forced to step down as company chairman. In a statement on Friday, Sun Hung Kai, Hong Kong's largest office landlord, said Walter Kwok's arrest "has not affected and will not affect the normal business and operations of the group." However, in an otherwise positive report late last month on the developer's business prospects, Macquarie said the corruption investigation "may permanently hurt investors" confidence in the company, resulting in a stock de-rating." If "in a worst case scenario the daily activities of the Kwok brothers ... are affected, acquisitions, new project commencement and expansion in China are most at risk," Maquarie analysts said. Macquarie said although the premium rating of Sun Hung Kai Properties was not "affected much" by the family dispute in 2008 over the trust and Walter Kwok's relegation to a non-executive director, the corruption investigation was much more serious. David Webb, a corporate governance activist in Hong Kong, said Sun Hung Kai needed to come clean with shareholders about the exact nature of the allegations against the Kwok brothers. "Clearly three of the directors [the three Kwok brothers] know what the allegations are," said Mr Webb. If the company doesn't want shareholders to speculate what's going on, they need to disclose what they are. Shares in the group, which were suspended during Friday morning, fell 1.8 per cent after resuming trading in the afternoon. The broader market was down 0.8 per cent.