Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua, who disappeared from a hotel in Hong Kong in 2017, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, a court announced on Friday.
Mr. Xiao was at the time of his arrest one of the richest men in China, with an estimated fortune of $6 billion.
He was found guilty in particular of “embezzlement of public funds” and “illegal use of funds”, indicated in a press release the Intermediate Court number 1 of Shanghai, where the businessman was tried.
His disappearance in 2017 caused a stir in Hong Kong.
Reputed to be close to the top Chinese communist leaders, he had according to press reports been abducted by agents from Beijing.
Since then, little information had leaked out about the case and the Chinese authorities remained silent.
The investigation targeting Xiao Jianhua appears to be part of a broad anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2012.
Mr. Xiao’s alleged abduction in Hong Kong had occurred at a time when mainland Chinese agents were not allowed to operate in the semi-autonomous territory.
At the time, some feared that residents of the city could thus be forcibly taken to neighboring mainland China, where justice is largely subject to the ruling Communist Party.
These fears were at the heart of the pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.