First reported in the early part of 2017, you may remember the case of billionaire Xiao Jianhua, who at one point was one of the richest people in China thanks to the company he founded, Tomorrrow Group.
According to reports at the time, Xiao was kidnapped from a hotel apartment in Hong Kong and taken to somewhere in mainland China by the authorities on undisclosed charges. Now, Xiao is about to spend his day in court in Shanghai – although the exact nature of the charges against him remains unknown.
The Chinese government has not made any official statements about Xiao, but according to sources close to the situation, he is facing charges of “unlawfully collecting public deposits,” a charge previously used by Chinese authorities against allegations of fraudulent real estate sales or fundraising efforts.
Zhang Suoqing / VCG via Getty Images
Older brother Xiao Xinhua said this to say about his brother’s condition in an email to The Wall Street Journal:
“After five years of waiting quietly, our family, under my brother’s strict instructions, still believes in the Chinese government and Chinese law. We hope the authorities can give our family an acceptable outcome.”
But Xiao refused to reveal anything else he might know about his younger brother’s case, except to say so”[i]It’s very complex and full of drama.”
In China, the charge of illegal collection of public deposits can be punished with imprisonment of five years or more depending on the severity of the alleged offense, and courts rarely find defendants not guilty once formal charges are brought.
Xiao has reportedly been held in isolation for the past five and a half years or so. His status is also closely monitored by the Government of Canada, of which Xiao is a member, but Canadian officials have not elaborated on the case due to privacy concerns. He’s also one of many wealthy industrialists and businessmen who have faced crackdowns from China, but his disappearance from his Hong Kong residence has been particularly tragic, with reports of “people smugglers” forcibly taking him from the Four Seasons Hotel in a wheelchair.
Since then, Xiao’s disappearance and legal status have been kept a secret, but it is likely that more details will emerge when and if his trial actually took place.
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