Hong Kong billionaire brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok had lost as much a $1.2 million off their combined net worth per minute on the day of their arrest on 29 March 2012.

Hong Kong billionaire brothers Thomas and Raymond Kwok had lost as much a $1.2 million off their combined net worth per minute on the day of their arrest on 29 March for allegedly engaging in corrupt practices, a press release by intelligence firm Wealth-X shows. 

The co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong's largest property development firm, saw their combined annual net worth of around $15.6 billion drop 14 per cent or $2 billion the day after the 29 March arrest. However, at the close of the Hong Kong market in 3 April, Wealth-X said the brothers regained $250 million, placing their total net loss to just 12 per cent. 

Their arrest came just 10 days after Thomas Chan, the executive director of Sun Hung Hai, was arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the firm's affairs.

"This is an unprecedented wealth destruction event, putting Raymond Kwow's motto 'tough times never last; tough people do' to the test," said Mykolas Rambus, chief executive of Wealth-X.

"Never has it been more important for ultra-wealthy individuals, even billionaires, to carefully hedge concentrated stock positions and account for extremely varied contingencies," he added.

Thomas Kwok, 60 years old, and Raymond Kwok, 58, were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the antigraft agency. Rafael Hui, a former city official, was also arrest on grounds of public misconduct and bribery.