Former Anbang chairman sentenced to 18 years in jail

The former chairman of China’s Anbang Insurance Group, Wu Xiaohui, has been found guilty of fraud and embezzlement and sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to a Reuters May 10 report.

The sentence by the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court comes three months after the Chinese state seized control of the insurer.

Wu will also surrender 10.5 billion yuan ($1.65 billion), and his bank accounts, properties, shares, companies and other assets have been frozen by the police, according to the report.

The court said Wu illegally raised 65.2 billion yuan through the sale of insurance products beyond regulatory limits, and embezzled 10 billion yuan from Anbang’s insurance fund.

In its statement, the court said Wu concealed the extent of his shareholding of Anbang Insurance and Anbang Property & Casualty Insurance. It said he also incited others to fake documents to mislead the regulator into approving the sale of some insurance products, Reuters said.

In February 2018, the Chinese government seized control of Anbang in an attempt to curtail big-spending conglomerates as it cracks down on financial risk.

In April, the China Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission approved a plan to inject ¥60.804 billion ($9.65 billion) of capital into the company while seeking new investors.

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