Sichuan tycoon accused of criminal enterprise

Editor's note: Liu Han, a mining tycoon in Sichuan province, and 35 purported gang members were charged with killing nine people, as well as with blackmail, illegal detention and other crimes, by the Xianning People's Procuratorate in Hubei province on Thursday. The following article from Xinhua News Agency details the alleged crimes.

Rumors have circulated since last March that mining tycoon Liu Han had disappeared.

Liu was elected political adviser in Sichuan province three times in a row and has more than 20 honorary titles. His best-known charitable act was the building of a rural elementary school complex that withstood the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake.