Tycoon on trial in ‘mafia’ gang case
Print Edition
A MINING tycoon, his brother and 34 associates stood trial yesterday on allegations of running a vast mafia-like gang in southwest China’s Sichuan Province that gunned down rivals, maintained fleets of Ferraris and bribed police to avoid prosecution.
The trial centers around Liu Han, former multimillionaire chairman of Sichuan’s largest private enterprise the Hanlong Group. He owned tens of subsidiary companies involved in electricity, energy, finance, mining, real estate and securities.
Liu, his brother Liu Wei and the others went on trial at Xianning Intermediate People’s Court in central China’s Hubei Province, the court said on its official microblog.
The brothers and their associates have been charged with 20 crimes, Xinhua news agency reported, including murder, assault, illegal detention, blackmail, fraud, possessing guns and ammunition, and operating casinos.
The gang’s criminal activities, dating back to 1993, helped them amass 40 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion) in assets, Xinhua reported.
The gang is accused in the deaths of nine people, five of whom were fatally shot, and police have seized hand grenades, a half-dozen submachine guns, 20 pistols and other firearms from gang members.
In 2012, Liu Han was No. 148 on Forbes magazine’s list of the richest businesspeople on China’s mainland, with a fortune estimated at US$855 million.
He told The Wall Street Journal in 2010 that an investor once shot up his car after suffering losses in a deal. He called himself “Liu Han, the only survivor.”
The gang is accused of blackmailing, threatening, beating up and slaying business rivals and ordinary people while bribing police and prosecutors to protect their associates and dealings. They owned a fleet of several hundred cars that included Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Ferraris, according to media reports.
They also fostered strong political ties in Sichuan that helped appoint Liu Han as a delegate of the provincial political advisory body for three consecutive terms, Xinhua said.
Among the accused are three officials in city-level police and prosecutors’ offices in Sichuan, Xinhua said, adding that Liu Wei’s testimony showed the officials were paid off with money and gifts as well as weekly parties with illicit drugs.
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