Tycoon Carson Yeung plots business move from his jail cell in Hong Kong

Convicted money launderer and former top-flight English soccer club owner Carson Yeung Ka-sing is still making business moves from his maximum-security cell in Stanley Prison.

The Sham Shui Po hairdresser-turned-tycoon - whose appeal against conviction for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars will start in a Hong Kong court on Tuesday - has called an extraordinary general meeting of Birmingham International Holdings, the parent company which owns former English Premier League team Birmingham City, who now play in England's second-tier Championship.

The meeting, announced in newspaper advertisements and which is perfectly legal, could see people close to Yeung - including his common-law partner - become members of the board. The move appears to be timed to coincide with this week's appeal.

Yeung resigned as executive director of Birmingham International Holdings before he was sentenced to six years in jail last March for laundering HK$721 million.

However, he still retains a significant stake in the company and has used his position as a shareholder to unilaterally call the meeting which he could influence from his cell through proxy votes.

According to senior counsel John Reading - who led the prosecution in the high-profile case - the confiscation of Yeung's shares will depend on the outcome of the appeal.

The decision to call an EGM has spooked club fans, who fear Yeung is acting as a shadow director.