Companies

China tycoon Huang appeals 14 year jail term

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-28 15:02

BEIJING - China's one-time richest man and the founder of a major retail chain has appealed his 14-year jail sentence for bribery and insider trading, the Legal Daily reported on Friday.

Huang Guangyu, the founder of retail chain GOME, was found guilty of bribery, insider trading and illegal business dealings this month.

The Legal Daily said Huang believed the sentence and fines were too heavy, and further disputed the finding that one of his companies, Pengrun, had paid bribes.

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Huang was fined 600 million yuan ($87.88 million) and had 200 million yuan worth of property confiscated, while his two firms, GOME and Pengrun, were fined 5 million yuan and 1.2 million yuan respectively for paying bribes.

At the end of 2009, Huang still held roughly one-third of GOME's total outstanding shares, worth $1.9 billion, according to Thomson One Analytics.