TVB executive Stephen Chan. File photo.

Mr Chan, 51, was alleged during the high-profile trial to have taken an outside job that paid him HK$112,000 without TVB's knowledge. But Judge Poon Siu-tung said the broadcaster must have known, and given its tacit approval, when Mr Chan hosted a live talk show at a shopping centre in 2009. He said that it would have been naive for the station to think he would take the job for nothing.

The ICAC also accused Mr Chan of deceiving TVB and five actresses by concealing a HK$300,000 payment for their appearances at an event. The judge said the prosecution had failed to prove that Mr Chan knew the details of the agreement.

Two co-defendants - a former personal assistant of Mr Chan and a TVB marketing executive - were also acquitted.