A court in the northeast China city of Dalian opened on Friday a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, and three of its employees.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange, totaling over 480 million US dollars.

The three individuals are the company's vice general manager, Lu Tao, deputy financial director, Xie Honglin, and the chief financial officer of China Minzu Securities, Yang Ying.

According to the indictment, Guo had applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans for the company's construction fund. The three individuals asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps and submitted the forged documents to the bank for the loans.

The trial into suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, and three of its employees begins in Dalian, Liaoning Province on June 9, 2017. /Caixin Photo

The bank issued loans totaling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million US dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes.

Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with involvement in fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totaling 13.5 million US dollars. Fugitive criminal suspect Guo Wengui and his son, Guo Qiang, are implicated in the case.

The trial attracted an audience of over 40 people, including legislators, political advisers, lawyers and journalists from domestic and overseas media outlets as well as members of the public.

The trial is being broadcasted via the court's official Weibo microblog account.

(Source: Xinhua)