Former Gome Appliances chairman Huang Guangyu could face up to 15 years in prison.
Beijing. A home appliance dealer, once China’s wealthiest businessman, went on trial on Thursday on charges of insider trading, bribery and other business offenses, a state news agency said.
Huang Guangyu, also known as Wong Kwong-yu, built his Gome Electronics into China’s biggest appliance retailer. Estimated to be worth $6.3 billion at one time, he was detained in November 2008 and news reports said he was accused of manipulating share prices.
On Thursday, Huang’s trial began in the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court, the Xinhua News Agency said. There were no details of the charges or evidence against him.
Court employees referred questions to the court’s propaganda office, where phone calls were not answered.
Huang resigned as Gome’s chairman in January 2009. Chinese news reports say he could face a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.
Huang’s rise and even faster fall reflected the uncertain status of entrepreneurs in China’s fast-changing economy.
A string of newly rich real estate developers and others have also been snared in a number of corruption cases.
Authorities in Hong Kong, a Chinese territory with its own legal system, are investigating accusations Huang diverted money from a Gome share buyback to pay a personal loan. Regulators say that cost Gome and its shareholders 1.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($206 million).
Hong Kong has frozen assets belong to Huang and his wife, Du Juan, also under investigation.
Associated Press
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