China sentences tycoon Xiao Jianhua to 13 years in prison, fines group $11b

China sentenced Chinese-Canadian financier Xiao Jianhua to 13 years prison and fined his company 55 billion yuan (S$11.21 billion), bringing an end to a long-running saga that has seen many of the tycoon’s business interests reined in since his seizure in Hong Kong more than five years ago.

“The criminal acts of Tomorrow and Xiao have seriously damaged the financial management order and seriously endangered the national financial security,” according to a statement from the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court.

Xiao himself was fined 6.5 million yuan.

The trial marked Xiao’s first public appearance since 2017 when he was taken from his room at the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong, where he had been staying for several years after fleeing China.

The Hurun Report of China’s richest people said Xiao, a student leader at the time of 1989 pro-democracy protests, was part of a fortune estimated at almost US$6 billion (S$8.32 billion) before he went missing.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES