The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Monday said magistrates had granted an arrest warrant for a former academic who is accused of concealing his interest in two companies that his employer bought goods and services from.

The graft-buster said Yeung Lam-lung, a former adjunct associate professor in the department of chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, had been charged with 17 counts involving procurement fraud but was no longer in the SAR.

It accused Yeung, 58, of involvement in 17 purchases of laboratory equipment and testing services by the university, worth $4 million. He faces three charges of conspiracy to defraud and 14 of fraud.

The commission says he failed to declare his connection to the two companies and, in three of the procurement exercises, induced his employer to engage the businesses in question.

The ICAC said it applied for the warrant when it learned that Yeung had left Hong Kong.

The commission said two other people, Au Yeung Siu-fung and Yeung Siu-on, had been charged with the same offences in late September. Their case has been adjourned to October 27 for mention.