'Furniture king', daughter held over alleged embezzlement of state assets
A furniture tycoon and his daughter have been detained in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang for alleged embezzlement of state assets, Xinhua reports.
Feng Yongming and his daughter Feng Lijia were arrested late last month in the province's northern city of Yichun where their company, Guangming Group Furniture, is based.
The company is considered one of the industry's leaders on the mainland and is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Bai Bo, secretary general of the city's government, said Mr Feng had effectively privatised Guangming Furniture - a state-owned company - and left several hundred million yuan in debt to the government.
It was alleged Mr Feng had fraudulently taken over Guangming without paying any money for the company's shares.
Mr Bai said Yichun authorities have directed the Communist Party Committee of Guangming Group to rectify the matter.
'[Feng Yongming] has allegedly breached the Criminal Law by ... damaging the interest of a listed company, falsely delivering capital contributions, withdrawing the capital contributions and embezzlement, while the daughter is also suspected of embezzlement,' Mr Bai said.
Xinhua's report left out how much money was allegedly lost, but quoted the National Business Daily as saying the case involved 95 million yuan (HK$108 million). It also failed to report whether any government officials would be held responsible.
Xinhua reported that Guangming, which used to be the nation's most profitable furniture maker, had fallen into debt in recent years, failing to cite a cause. But the report did suggest that Mr Feng was responsible for the company's losses.
He was once described as the 'King of Furniture' and was a member of National People's Congress for more than decade until March.
Dozens of mainland tycoons have fallen from grace in recent years for embezzlement and corruption. Many, such as Mr Feng, were members of the national legislature and drew widespread criticism that officials had colluded with businessmen.
Guangming was Yichun's first listed company and was established in 1985. It was founded in the city because of its rich timber resources.
