A Shanghai court sentenced Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua on Friday to 13 years in prison after finding him guilty of bribery, illegal use of funds, and other financial crimes in a case that sent shock waves through the business world.
Xiao was abducted from the 5-star Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong in 2017. His case has been the focus of observers of the Chinese Communist Party’s factional intrigue following reports the investment group Xiao founded had ties to the relatives of former officials.
Shanghai Number 1 Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on its social media account. In addition to prison time, Xiao will have to pay a $950,000 personal fine. His company, Tomorrow Holding, will have to pay about $8.1 billion.
The statement on social media said Xiao used his company to collect more than $45 billion in public deposits illegally. His business empire covered sectors ranging from insurance to beet farming.
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Human smugglers took Xiao from his home at the Four Seasons Hotel and brought him back to mainland China in 2017. After spending years in isolation, Xiao’s trial began in July. Neither his relatives nor Canadian diplomats were allowed to attend.
Xiao’s dramatic disappearance in 2017 raised red flags about China’s reach beyond the mainland. Reuters reported that the billionaire was taken from the luxury hotel in a wheelchair with his head covered, despite Xiao never needing a wheelchair in the past.
Jerome Cohen, an expert on China’s legal system, told the Washington Post that the operation to remove Xiao was a “brazen kidnapping” meant to illustrate “that Hong Kong was no longer a safe haven from the reach of Beijing’s secret police.”
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Xiao was worth an estimated $5 billion around the time of his disappearance. His empire has been dismantled by Chinese authorities.
