Ex-staffers of fugitive Guo plead guilty to loan fraud

Three former executives of fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining loans and banker's acceptances - a type of short-term debt - during a trial in Kaifeng, Henan province, on Wednesday.

The three defendants, Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling, who worked for Henan Yuda Real Estate Co, controlled by Guo Wengui, confessed to fraudulently obtaining loans and banker's acceptances over 44 times from seven banks by registering shell corporations, forging contracts and employing fake investment projects from 2008 to 2015.

Nearly 1.5 billion yuan ($221 million) was stolen through the transactions, prosecutors said, adding that while most of the money was returned, 212 million yuan was still missing.