Ex-Anbang Boss Accused Of Stealing 60 Billion Yuan

A mainland court accused the former head of troubled Anbang Insurance Group of embezzling more than 60 billion yuan as it opened his high-profile fraud trial one month after authorities seized control of the big-spending conglomerate.

The mainland's insurance regulator announced an unprecedented takeover of Anbang in February, saying fallen chairman Wu Xiaohui would be prosecuted for financial crimes.

Wu's trial began on Wednesday at the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate Court, where prosecutors accused Wu of defrauding Anbang of 65.25 billion yuan.

The funds were transferred to companies he personally controlled for investment overseas, to pay down debts, or "personally squandered", the court said on an official social-media account.

The court also was told that Anbang had sold investment products that exceeded allowable fund-raising amounts by a whopping 723.9 billion yuan.

"The accused Wu Xiaohui said that he did not understand the law and did not know that these actions constituted crimes," the court said.

It was not clear what plea was entered by Wu, who was pictured in the dock looking calm in a suit with no tie.

The government's swoop on Anbang was its most aggressive move yet to rein in politically-connected conglomerates like Anbang that grew rapidly and launched a wave of splashy multi-billion-dollar overseas investments fuelled by debt.

The court gave no indication when the trial would conclude, but such proceedings are often wrapped up within a day, especially in sensitive cases that the government does not want dragged out.

Established in 2004, Anbang grew rapidly from a property insurer into a financial services powerhouse, making waves in 2014 by buying New York's landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel for US$1.95 billion.

In 2015, it bought US insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life for US$1.6 billion and, later, insurers in South Korea and the Netherlands. It also made a failed US$14 billion bid for the Starwood hotels chain. (AFP)

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