They were the leaders and steersmen of Chinese business and commerce. They've been gifted with commendable acumen when it comes to business maneuvers and capitalization. They've accumulated wealth net worth measurable in billions, each, and have made regular appearances on the Forbes list as China's wealthiest. They've embodied the word “entrepreneur” for many Chinese youth looking to follow in their footsteps. And yet, in spite of all their talents and gifts, they found themselves enticed and corrupted by the faulty system; they were driven by capitalist greed, had indulged in personal gain, and had revoked their business integrity. They've all, in the end, fallen out with good fortune and their considerable talents and regrettably landed themselves behind bars.

 

1) Huang Guang Yu 黄光裕

Net worth estimated at 43 billion RMB. On November 23, 2008, Huang was arrested by the Beijing authorities on charges of commercial crime. The seven counts leveled against him included an unaccountable income of 70 billion RMB, alleged manipulation of the stock market, money laundering, bribing, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

 

2) Guo Jian Xin 郭建新

Net worth estimated at 10 billion RMB. Guo signed the “Knorchin Prairie: Stop Desert Encroachment and Rebuild the Ecology” project with an Australian foundation in 1998. The foundation invested 3 billion USD in the project. But the untimely economic crisis hit Asia and the Australian foundation subsequently fell to misfortunes and bankruptcy, severely damaging the chain of cashflow for Guo and his company. Eventually, Guo fell out with his investors and business partners and landed himself in jail.

 

3) Yang Bin 杨斌

Net worth estimated at 7.5 billion RMB. On July 2003, Yang was prosecuted for six counts of commercial crime and fraud and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. At the time, he had made it in on the list for China's wealthiest in 2001, and had just had his appointment as governor to the North Korea Sinuiju Special Administrative Region confirmed in the 2002.

4) Yang Rong 仰融

Net worth estimated at 7 billion RMB. On October 23, 2002, Shanghai Securities News first reported on the arrest of Yang Rong: Brilliance China Holdings announced in a bulletin that CEO Yang was arrested by Liaoning authorities on charges of commercial crime.

 

5) Zhou Zheng Yi 周正毅

Net worth estimated at 3 billion RMB. On May of 2003, Zhou was alleged to have manipulated stock markets transactions and made false claims on company registration capital; he was sentenced to three years in prison. Zhou was arrested again on January 21, 2007 and the Second Intermediate Court of the Municipality of Shanghai sentenced him to 16 years behind bars and hit him with a fine of 3.35 million RMB.

 

6) Gu Chu Jun 顾雏军

Net worth estimated at 2 billion RMB. Gu was charged with four counts of commercial crime, including false claims on company registration capital, false claims on company finance reports, embezzlement, and encroachment of office and duty. Gu was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

 

7) Tang Wan Xin 唐万新

Net worth estimated at 2 billion RMB. Tang had emerged as an influential leader in the Chinese commercial scene until he was arrested on December 17th, 2004, for charges related to stock market manipulation, banking fraud and other charges regarding illegal procurement of wealth.

 

8) Mou Qi Zhong 牟其中

Net worth estimated at 2 billion RMB. On March of 1996, Mou was detained and had his passport confiscated when trying to leave China on charges of commercial crime. In 2000, Chinese courts prosecuted Mou for credit fraud and sentenced him to life.

 

9) Zhang Hai 张海

Net worth estimated at 1 billion RMB. Zhang was arrested on March of 2005, on embezzlement charges. He was alleged to have used his privileges in office to steal 121 million RMB and embezzle another 94 million RMB from Jianlibao Group, of which he is the CEO. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

 

10) Zhou Yi Ming 周益明

Net worth estimated at 1 billion RMB. On April of 2007, Sichuan Provincial Higher People's Court made the final rulings on Zhou on count of “contract fraud” and sentenced him to life in prison. Zhou was the first CEO of a listed company to be handed a life sentence for contract fraud in China.

 

Source: ifeng.com

 

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