Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang speaks during a news conference after his policy address in Hong Kong in this October 10, 2007 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's former chief executive, Donald Tsang, was charged on Monday with two counts of misconduct in public office, the latest in a string of scandals that have ensnared senior business and former political figures in the financial hub.

Tsang, 70, retired in 2012 after a high-flying career as a civil servant, serving a former financial secretary before being elected as the chief executive in 2005.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said the charges related to a rental deal for a penthouse flat in Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong province and the nomination of an architect doing design work on the flat for a government award.

Tsang told local media his conscience was clear.

"Over the past three-and-a-half years, I have assisted fully with the investigations by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. My conscience is clear. I have every confidence that the court will exonerate me after its proceedings," he said in a statement to the South China Morning Post.

Public resentment toward Tsang had centred on reports of lavish spending on overseas duty visits, along with taking trips with tycoons by private jet and luxury yacht and accepting a sweetheart rental deal for the Shenzhen flat.  

A series of scandals ensnaring powerful Hong Kong officials have tarnished the city's reputation.

In December, former official Rafael Hui was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for his role in a high-profile graft case involving Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties.