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Josephine Ma

A Canadian-Chinese tycoon who disappeared from a luxury hotel in Hong Kong in suspicious circumstances in 2017 was expected to stand trial in mainland China on Monday, according to the Canadian embassy in Beijing.
“Global Affairs Canada is aware that a trial in the case of Canadian citizen, Mr Xiao Jianhua, will take place on July 4, 2022,” the embassy said on Monday.
“Canadian consular officials are monitoring this case closely, providing consular services to his family and continue to press for consular access.”
The embassy said no other information could be provided.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Xiao was charged with illegally collecting public deposits, an offence that can lead to over 10 years in prison if large amounts of money are involved.
The central government has been tight-lipped about the trial and the charges against Xiao.
China trims oligarch’s empire by seizing his insurers, trusts, brokers
Xiao, 50, was born in Shandong, has Canadian citizenship and reportedly held a diplomatic passport from Antigua and Barbuda.
He ranked 32nd on the Hurun China Rich List in 2016 and his net worth was estimated at US$6 billion before his Tomorrow Group financial empire was dismantled by Beijing amid his downfall five years ago.
Although a low-profile figure, he was well known for his connections with China’s political elite and his businesses ranged from insurance to mining.
In 2007, Caijing magazine reported that Xiao teamed up with Zeng Wei, the son of the powerful former vice-president Zeng Qinghong, in the controversial takeover of state-owned conglomerate Shandong Luneng.
Shandong Luneng was sold for 3.73 billion yuan, but the market value of its assets was estimated at 73.8 billion yuan. A spokesman for Xiao said in 2014 that the deal was legal.


A 2014 report by The New York Times said a review of corporate records showed Xiao had business links with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s sister and brother-in-law, as well as the son-in-law of powerful former state leader Jia Qinglin.
In a response to the Times article, Xiao confirmed that a company he co-founded had stepped in to buy shares held by Xi’s sister and her husband the previous year.
In 2020, financial regulators seized control of several insurers, trust firms and stock brokerages linked to Xiao, as part of the coordinated effort to dismantle his business empire.
Huaxia Life Insurance, Tianan Property Insurance, Tianan Life, Yian Property Insurance, New Times Trust and New China Trust were placed under state administration to “protect the rights of policy holders, customers and serve the public’s interest”, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission at the time.
Separately, New Times Securities, Guosheng Securities and Guosheng Futures were placed under the government management for a year from 2020.
Mysterious tycoon's empire proves tough for Beijing to split up
Xiao vanished in 2017 from the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where he had lived for several years.
Chinese government sources reportedly said he complied when he was taken away by mainland personnel.
Hong Kong police said weeks after the incident that Xiao passed through Hong Kong customs to the mainland with travel documents, though it remains unknown if he was coerced to do so.
It is also unclear when a decision will be handed down but the trial could mean the end to one of the biggest criminal cases involving a mainland tycoon.
Xiao’s arrest was among a series of crackdowns on high-profile Chinese businessmen following a stock market rout in 2015. Beijing has also targeted a number of big foreign asset buyers since 2017.
Xu Xiang, once considered China’s hedge fund guru, was sentenced to 5½ years in prison in 2017 for market manipulation.
In 2018, Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of beleaguered insurance giant Anbang Group and a major foreign asset buyer, was sentenced to 18 years for more than US$12 billion in fraud and embezzlement.
Wu, who was married to Deng Xiaoping’s granddaughter, mounted an unsuccessful appeal.


China jails tycoon Xiao Jianhua for 13 years, slapping an unprecedented US$8 billion fine on his Tomorrow Group

Canadian diplomats denied access to tycoon Xiao Jianhua’s China trial

Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua, who disappeared from Hong Kong hotel, to stand trial in mainland China

China’s bank runs highlight abuse among small-bank shareholders, despite crackdown

Xiao Jianhua

Xiao Jianhua was one of China’s richest people before his 2017 downfall. Photo: Weibo

China continues to dismantle missing tycoon Xiao Jianhua’s financial empire

The China Securities Regulatory Commission’s office in Beijing. The regulator continues to dismantle assets belonging to the Tomorrow Group. Photo: Simon Song

A file photo of Xiao Jianhua. Photo: Handout

Baoshang Bank, a key pillar of Xiao Jianhua’s Tomorrow Group, was declared bankrupt in 2020. Photo: Reuters

China’s central bank declares Baoshang Bank bankrupt as it picks apart Xiao Jianhua’s financial empire

Exterior of a Baoshang Bank's office building at the city centre of Baotou city in Inner Mongolia on 29 July 2019. Photo: Orange Wang

Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua, 46, is the founder of the Tomorrow Group but his business empire is believed to be much more extensive than what is publicly known. Illustration: Henry Wong

Xiao Jianhua’s Tomorrow Group duped Baoshang Bank out of US$22 billion in loans, triggering Chinese lender’s collapse, PBOC says

Last year Baoshang Bank became the first Chinese lender to be take oven by the government in two decades. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s regulators take the scalpel to further downsize the financial empires of oligarchs Xiao Jianhua and Ye Jianming

A branch of Harbin Bank in Dalian, northeast China’s Liaoning province. Photo: Imaginechina

Ye Jianming, chairman of CEFC China, sign a cooperation agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil. (image taken from: http://jjckb.xinhuanet.com/2017-02/21/c_136073002.htm?from=timeline&isappinstalled=0&winzoom=1)

***ONE TIME USE ONLY, PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE RE-USE - OTUO*** Xiao Jianhua.

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Xiao to face court on Monday, according to the Canadian embassy in Beijing
Billionaire vanished from the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong in 2017



Xiao to face court on Monday, according to the Canadian embassy in Beijing.


Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua, who disappeared from Hong Kong hotel, to stand trial in mainland China

Xiao to face court on Monday, according to the Canadian embassy in Beijing Billionaire vanished from the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong in 2017

Xiao to face court on Monday, according to the Canadian embassy in Beijing

Billionaire vanished from the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong in 2017