George Tan

George Tan Soon-gin was a Hong Kong financial criminal and businessman and who was known for his role and involvement in the Carrian Group and the scandal that led to its collapse.

Early life and education Tan was a descendant of Hokkien people.

There is conflicting information on Tan's year and place of birth. A report by Wall Street Journal claims Tan was born in Malaysia, Its rapid expansion led to rumors over the source of its capital, with various rumors speculating the capital came from Imelda Marcos, Gosbank, and a lumber corporation in Borneo.

Carrian would later go on a buying spree of various businesses in the 1980s, including Cargo ships and shares of companies in a variety of industries, leading some commentators to say the company is akin to a "greedy housewife entering a supermarket and placing items she needs into her basket without regards to price". The company's business operations eventually encompassed shipping, travel, and taxi transportation. Tan was also accused by a government prosecutor of overstaying his visa and illegally living in Hong Kong for over a decade. and included an acquittal in on fraud charges in 1987 following a 19-month trial. He was jailed for three years in 1996 after admitting to his involvement in a conspiracy surrounding US$238 million in secret loans obtained from Bank Bumiputera Malaysia Berhad.

Post release Following his release from custody, Tan was involved in a legal dispute with the son of Hang Seng Bank co-founder Lam Bing Yim, Rogerio Lam, over five antiques from the Song and Qing dynasties era that were lent to Tan during the 1980s.

Death According to Chim Pui-chung, a former member of the Legislative Council and a trader who manipulated the stock price of Carrian Group, Tan passed away "more than two, approximately three years ago", during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was also verified earlier by Mary Jean Reimer through her YouTube livestream.

Media portrayal The character Gordon Wing Muk-tong in 2020 TVB drama series Of Greed and Ants is noted to be based on Tan. The character Henry Ching in the 2023 Cantonese-language Hong Kong feature crime-drama film The Goldfinger is based on Tan.