Fugitive accused of embezzling nearly 3 billion yuan

A court in Heilongjiang province has revealed details of a corruption case involving regional politician Li Chuanliang, a fugitive who is accused of holding illegal assets worth more than 3.1 billion yuan ($438 million).

The Mudanjiang Intermediate People's Court published a full-page announcement in the People's Court Daily, the official newspaper of the national court system, on Friday. According to the court, prosecutors have filed an application to confiscate Li's illegal gains, which the court began processing in late September.

Li, who held various government positions in Heilongjiang, including head of the Jixi finance bureau and deputy mayor of both Jixi and Hegang, fled the country on Nov 15,2018. He was placed under investigation in July 2020, and authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in December that year.

The application detailed how Li allegedly used his positions to embezzle public property worth over 2.9 billion yuan. He is also accused of accepting bribes totaling 48.92 million yuan and misappropriating 110 million yuan in public funds for profit-making ventures.

In addition, Li is suspected of abusing his power by secretly registering companies with State-owned funds and awarding contracts to firms he controlled, gaining an illicit profit of 73.25 million yuan.

Investigators said Li had invested all his illegal proceeds in companies and projects related to real estate, engineering and equipment purchases. Since the investigation began in 2020, authorities have frozen over 1.4 billion yuan of his funds and seized 1,021 properties, 27 parcels of land, eight forest plots, 38 vehicles and 10 sets of mechanical equipment.

Prosecutors stated that the evidence clearly links these assets to Li's illegal activities, justifying their application for asset confiscation under China's Criminal Procedure Law. Li's relatives will have a six-month window to apply to the court to attend the trial, which will begin soon after that period elapses.

Li, 61, began his career at the Jixi finance bureau in 1983, rising to deputy mayor in 2012 in that city before serving as deputy mayor of Hegang in 2014. He resigned from the Hegang role in 2017.