Tycoon Zeng Xianbo denies he tried to help Ling Jihua’s wife flee to Japan
Zeng’s remarks follow month-long silence to media
Chinese businessman Zeng Xianbo, reportedly being held in connection to a widening corruption probe centred on the chief aide to former president Hu Jintao, dismissed the rumours at a recent public event, mainland media reported.
Mainland business magazine Caijing reported last week that the Shandong-based tycoon had been taken away by the Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog before the Christmas to assist the investigation into Ling Jihua.
The magazine also cited sources as saying Zeng was close to Ling’s wife, Gu Liping, who is also from Shandong, echoing widely circulated online posts that the 48-year-old businessman tried to help Gu flee to Japan from Qingdao aboard his yacht, but failed.
Gu and her younger brother, Gu Yuanxu, and his wife, CCTV producer Luo Fanghua, have been taken in by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection while it conducts its investigation of Ling.
On Saturday, Zeng attended a ceremony marking his company’s first delivery of a customised Rolls-Royce Phantom, news website Thepaper.cn reported.
Zeng is the president of Qingdao Furi Group, a leading car distributor that also provides real estate development, financial investment and luxury operation services.
The company is also the mainland dealer for luxury yachts brands including Leopard Catamarans of the US, Azimut of Italy, Dragonfly trimarans and Monomer X-Yachts from Denmark.
Zeng used the occasion to deny rumours of his involvement in Gu’s alleged attempt to flee abroad.
“[The online posts] made it sound real. But how can a private yacht sail [from Qingdao] to Japan?”, the website cited Zeng as saying.
Zeng returned to Qingdao on Thursday after staying out of contact with the media for more than a month, Caijing reported. He told the business magazine he was “fine” but refused to comment on the alleged graft investigation.
