Society

Bribery main reason for billionaires in prison

By Zhao Chenyan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-01-19 15:46

Bribery is the main reason for imprisoning China's billionaires, according to a newly released Hurun report, China Youth News reported Wednesday.

Fraud and misappropriation of the capital markets are the other main reasons the wealthy go to jail.

According to the report, 24 of 1,882 business tycoons in China are either in jail or waiting sentencing for being involved with such problems in the past 12 years.

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Among the 18 billionaires currently in jail, Huang Guangyu, ranked 21st on the "Hurun Rich List 2010" with 24 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), is the richest, followed by Zhang Wenzhong, the founder and former chairman of Wumart, jailed 18 years for bribery, fraud and funds misappropriation.

The report also reveals those sentenced were mainly engaged in the trade of real estate, infrastructure construction and household appliances retail.

It said that they started to commit crime at the average age of 40 and were investigated at 43, sentenced at 45 and freed at 56.

Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and publisher of the Hurun Report, said their problems are complex and multi-level events and cannot be simply assigned to individual morality or linked to the history of the country's economic development.