Chinese TV host who sparked Fan Bingbing tax probe goes missing after accusing Shanghai police of fraud
Officers from economic crime investigation department pocketed hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash gifts, Cui Yongyuan says
The Chinese television presenter whose allegations sparked the Fan Bingbing tax evasion scandal has apparently disappeared after making fresh claims about corruption within the Shanghai police authority.
Cui Yongyuan said on social media on Sunday that the city’s police and celebrities from the world of entertainment were involved in a “huge fraud”.
While he did not name any stars, he accused officers from Shanghai’s economic crime investigation department (ECID) of accepting hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash gifts, as well as drinking 20,000 yuan (US$2,900) bottles of wine and smoking 100 yuan a packet cigarettes.
In a rare public response, Shanghai police on Wednesday urged Cui to get in touch, claiming it had been unable to locate him since he made the allegations.
“[We] hope that he volunteers to contact the police and support our investigation,” it said. “Once the problem he raised is proved to be true, we will handle it firmly in line with the law.”
In the original post on Weibo – China’s Twitter-like platform – Cui said he had been investigated by tax officials and police as part of the inquiry into Fan, whom he had accused of tax evasion in May.
“I know that the cause was Air Strike [a film in which Fan starred]. Those who participated in this huge fraud include celebrities from the entertainment field as well as police officers from Shanghai ECID,” he said.