China's 'Tobacco King' has been expelled from the Communist Party and is facing criminal prosecution for corruption, Xinhua announced yesterday.
Chu Shijian, former chairman of Yunnan's Hong Ta Group - which manufactures one of China's best known cigarettes, the Hong Ta Shan brand - has been formally indicted and will be put on trial.
If convicted, Chu could face the death penalty under mainland law. Xinhua described his case as scandalous, saying it involved nearly all his family.
In addition to illicit gains discovered in China, Chu had deposited more than one billion yuan (HK$930 million) and US$25 million (HK$193.25 million) in overseas bank accounts, said Xinhua.
It said investigators had, so far, been able to recover much of the money for the company. The agency said central government investigators received an anonymous letter from Henan province in 1995.
It alleged that Chu had accepted a large quantity of gold ornaments and US dollars from Lin Zhengzhi, a cement factory employee in Henan's Sanmenxia City, in exchange for a large shipment of tobacco.