Jiugui Liquor suspects caught in E China

HEFEI - Two suspects, alleged to have stolen 100 million yuan ($16.5m) from the bank account of Jiugui Liquor have been apprehended in east China's Anhui Province.

Police in Ningguo City caught the two suspects, Jia and Chen the morning of January 20, and have since handed them over to Hunan police.

Jiugui Liquor Co., Ltd., based in Hunan, disclosed on Tuesday that 100 million yuan had vanished from one of its bank accounts in east China's Zhejiang Province in December.

A bank account was set up in the company's name on November 29 at the Agriculture Bank of China in Hangzhou, provincial capital of Zhejiang, a Jiugui Liquor statement said. A total of 100 million yuan was deposited.

Over the course of three days from December 11 to December 13, a series of withdrawals were made leaving only 1,176 yuan in the account.

Jiugui's shares tumbled 4.41 percent to close at 11.91 yuan on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Tuesday following the company statement.

China's quality liquor makers have been frustrated by their performance on the stock market recently, partly due to the government limiting official spending on banquets.