Chinese Tycoon

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Chinese tycoon sentenced to death for being ‘ruthless underworld kingpin’

Head of company Hanlong found guilty with his brother of 'organising and leading a mafia-style group' as well as murder
Liu Han and his brother Liu Wei were sentenced to death by a Chinese court on charges of leading a mafia-style criminal gang
Picture: EPA
By Tom Phillips, Shanghai
1:00PM BST 23 May 2014
Liu Han, a gambling aficionado and mining tycoon, is sentenced to death after being found guilty of being a mafia-style Godfather behind a two-decade reign of terror in southwest China

A Chinese mining tycoon famed for his love of cigars, casinos and mink coats has been sentenced to death after being convicted of commanding "a cabal of ferocious gangsters" responsible for a "vile" wave of gangland murders.

Liu Han, a 48-year-old billionaire, was guilty of leading a sprawling criminal brotherhood behind an orgy of "mafia-style crime and murder", a court in Hubei province announced on Friday, following a three-week trial that Beijing has spun as a major victory in its war on corruption.

Thirty-four other gang members, including Mr Liu's brother, Liu Wei, were also found guilty of a variety of related offenses by the court in central China.

An emotional Mr Liu, who denied most of the charges, put up one final show of defiance before being led from the dock, witnesses told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. "I've been framed," he shouted. "I've been wronged".

Until last year Mr Liu, the head of the Sichuan Hanlong mining group, was known as a generous if eccentric philanthropist who enjoyed chain-smoking, late-night gambling sessions and close ties to the top levels of Chinese government.

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However, that mask began to slip in early 2013 when sensational rumours about a parallel life of extortion, violence and murder began to spread.

The "well-known plutocrat and mineral tycoon" was in fact a "ruthless underworld kingpin who controlled gambling, loan sharking and construction projects," Xinhua, China's official news agency, claimed.

An investigation was subsequently announced and the billionaire was put on trial in April this year.

Mr Liu took his first steps into the world of crime in the earlier 1990s, leading a "gang of local thugs and vagrants" with help from his brother, investigators told state media.

After "fraudulently" obtaining a large loan, the brothers went into property and made a fortune from this and from construction. Eventually, Mr Liu became one of China's wealthiest men, a commodities tycoon who splashed out tens of millions of pounds for control of mineral deposits in Australia, Africa and the United States.

However, Mr Liu simultaneously presided over a "heinous" and "sinister" criminal enterprise behind a wave of terror in his native Sichuan province, the investigators said.

On one occasion the tycoon's henchmen murdered a villager who resisted having his home demolished, it was claimed. On another, he organised a drive-by shooting to take out the leader of a rival gang.

"Victims and their families did not even dare to speak the name "Liu" out loud, referring to them as "that family" instead," Xinhua reported.

"With carrots and sticks, Liu Han established absolute authority in the gang. Blood cleared the path for Liu Han's businesses and surrounded by a cabal of ferocious gangsters, the wealth of Liu snowballed."

Beijing has painted Liu Han's conviction as an example of the Communist Party's new-found determination to rid China of corruption. Xi Jinping, the president, has vowed to take on both "tigers" and "flies" in his bid to clean up his nation.

However, critics dismiss the businessman's fate as a political act designed to further damage the reputation of Zhou Yongkang, China's former security chief, to whom Mr Liu was close.

Mr Zhou's political life appears to be in tatters after president Xi reportedly took the decision to purge his once-powerful rival on corruption charges.

"These cases are being used to collect evidence against Zhou, I think this verdict is preparation for Zhou's trial," said Zhang Ming, a political scientist at Beijing's Renmin University.

Mr Liu's family denied he was a mafia godfather on Friday. "You could charge him with anything, including economic crimes. But he is not a gangster," one told the South China Morning Post.

State media has been less sympathetic, revelling in Mr Liu's stunning downfall by recalling a 2010 interview in which he lunched on pigeon stuffed with shark fin before leaving in a black Ferrari.

"Liu Han always wins," the tycoon told the Wall Street Journal. "Liu Han never loses."

Zhou Yongkang, China’s former security chief's connections:

Bo Xilai analysis: a light that burned twice as bright - but half as long
Bo Xilai, former Politburo member. Jailed.

Regional power: (From left) Liu Han, mining tycoon, Guo Yongxiang, ex-top Sichuan official and Li Chuncheng, ex-top Sichuan official
Regional power: (From left) Liu Han, mining tycoon, sentenced to death, Guo Yongxiang, ex-top Sichuan official, under investigation, and Li Chuncheng, ex-top Sichuan official, also under investigation

Oil: Ex-national oil executives Li Hualin and Jiang Jiemin
Ex-national oil executives Li Hualin (left), under investigation, and Jiang Jiemin, under investigation

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