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'King of the Road' on trial in Shanghai

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-26 07:42

Highway tycoon Liu Genshan went on trial yesterday at Hangzhou's Shangcheng District People's Court charged with embezzling 150 million yuan ($21.7 million) from a highway company in Zhejiang province.

The former chairman of the Shanghai Maosheng International Group is accused of withdrawing 150 million yuan of the registered capital of the Shaoxing Yongjin Highway Development Co between 2002 and 2004, which also caused a 14 million yuan loss of interest.

He is also charged with acquiring a 30-percent stake in the firm in 2004 for 127 million yuan, when the true price was 433 million yuan.

Liu has been under investigation since 2005, when he was suspected of being involved in corruption in a highway project in Zhejiang. He was arrested on June 5 last year.

Nicknamed King of the Road, the 52-year-old was named in the 2004 Hurun Report as China's 36th richest man with assets totaling 2.1 billion yuan.

The tycoon is believed to have close connections with several senior government officials who helped him win key highway projects.

Cai Jidong, the former director of Shaoxing's traffic department, and Zhang Laixing, vice-director of the department, were said to have helped Liu obtain shares in the Yongjin Highway. Cai has been arrested.

Liu was also a close friend of Chen Liangyu, Shanghai's former party chief who was jailed in April for bribery and abuse of power in the wake of a social security fund scandal.

The court did not announce any verdict yesterday.