Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua set to go on trial in China
Global News
China-born Xiao, known to have links to China's Communist Party elite, has not been seen in public since 2017 after he was investigated amid a state-led conglomerate crackdown.
Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua, who went missing in Hong Kong five years ago, was due to go on trial in China on Monday, the Canadian embassy in Beijing said.
China-born Xiao, known to have links to China’s Communist Party elite, has not been seen in public since 2017 after he was investigated amid a state-led conglomerate crackdown. The specifics of the probe haven’t been disclosed by officials.
Xiao was whisked away in a wheelchair from a luxury Hong Kong hotel in the early hours with his head covered, a source close to the tycoon told Reuters at the time.
“Global Affairs Canada, our home office, is aware that a trial in the case of Canadian citizen Mr. Xiao Jianhua will take place today,” a Canadian Embassy official told Reuters over the phone in a readout of a statement from Ottawa.
“Canadian consular officials are monitoring this case closely, providing consular services to his family and continue to press for consular access.”
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Monday that he was not aware of the situation, when asked about Xiao’s trial at a media briefing.
Xiao was ranked 32nd on the 2016 Hurun China rich list, China’s equivalent of the Forbes list, with an estimated net worth of $5.97 billion at the time.
At the center of Xiao’s empire is the financial group Tomorrow Holdings Co.
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