China: a Canadian tycoon sentenced to thirteen years in prison for fraud

Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua, who disappeared in 2017 from a hotel in Hong Kong, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

China University of Hong Kong/AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Canadian tycoon of Chinese origin, Xiao Jianhua, who disappeared in 2017 from a hotel in Hong Kong, was sentenced to thirteen years in prison, justice announced on Friday August 18.

Xiao Jianhua was at the time of his arrest one of the richest men in China, with an estimated fortune of six billion dollars.

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Xiao Jianhua was found guilty of " 

 " and " 

 ", said in a press release the Intermediate Court number 1 of Shanghai, where the businessman was tried.

His disappearance in 2017 caused a stir in Hong Kong.

Reputed to be close to the top Chinese Communist leaders, he had, according to press reports, been abducted by Beijing agents.

Since then, little information had leaked out about the case and the Chinese authorities remained silent.

An anti-corruption campaign launched in 2012

The investigation into

appears to be part of a broad anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2012. Xiao Jianhua's alleged abduction in Hong Kong occurred in a time when agents from mainland China were not allowed to operate in the semi-autonomous territory.

At the time, some feared that residents of the city could thus be forcibly taken to neighboring mainland China, where justice is largely subject to the ruling Communist Party.

These fears were at the heart of

that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.

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• China

• finance

• hong kong

• Corruption