A jailed former airline tycoon yesterday accused a top official in Wuhan, provincial capital of Hubei, of adultery, usury, abuse of power and embezzlement.
The relatives of 51-year-old Lan Shili, who founded the private East Star Airlines in 2005, released a document accusing Yuan Shanla, Wuhan's executive vice-mayor, of crimes including abuse of power, playing a major role in toppling the airline and cohorting with a triad head.
A spokesman for the Wuhan city government's news office said the accusations were 'groundless rumours of a malicious nature'. He said the government's internet censor had stepped in and further government response would depend on how public opinion unfolded online.
Lan was named China's 136th richest person by Forbes magazine in 2008. He was jailed by the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court for four years in April last year for tax evasion.
Lan's accusation, dated July 22 and read by his relatives at a Beijing press conference, was submitted to Hubei's prosecutors and anti-graft watchdog in July, but no response had been received, his relatives said. It said a detailed list of allegations against Yuan, 57, had also been passed on with evidence.
Yuan was accused of demanding 500,000 yuan (HK$610,722) from Lan to finance his son's trips to France and Hong Kong as well as mahjong games from 2007 to 2008.