Business
11:57, 28-Mar-2018
Former Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui on trial for fraud, embezzlement
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Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of Chinese insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group, went on trial in Shanghai on Wednesday morning, on charges of embezzlement and fraud.
Shanghai No. 1 People’s Intermediate Court announced via its account on Sina Weibo that Wu, who was detained in Beijing last June, was facing charges of “fraudulently raising capital” and “work-related embezzlement.”
Wu’s trial comes just over one month after the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) announced it was taking control of Anbang for one year, while also confirming that Wu would face criminal proceedings for “economic crimes.”
VCG Photo
VCG Photo
Under Wu, Anbang led various high-profile mergers and acquisitions overseas, including the 2014 purchase of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for 1.95 billion US dollars and Strategic Hotels & Resorts for 6.5 billion US dollars in 2016.
However, question marks soon arose over the internal finances of Anbang, with Hong Hao, chief China strategist of financial services company BOCOM International Holdings telling CGTN the CIRC’s takeover of Anbang was a move “in the right direction.”
Hong further warned that leveraged trading and other operations led by Anbang could have led to systemic risk if the CIRC had not intervened.
After Wu’s criminal proceedings and the CIRC takeover were confirmed, a spokesman for Anbang said it “fully supported” the decision, before adding “we will continue to be committed to our overseas subsidiaries' business and investment, and will provide necessary support to their healthy development.”
Anbang is ranked 139th on the Fortune 500 list, with registered assets worth 1.97 trillion yuan (310.9 billion US dollars).