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Property chief on trial for bad deals

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-03 07:47

The former general manager of a State-owned property firm went on trial here yesterday charged with making 160 million yuan ($23 million) from fraudulent land deals.

Qin Jinlong, 61, is accused of "hiding" three plots of land totaling nearly 230 hectares, when the State-owned Shanghai County Real Estate General Co became the privately owned Shanghai Zhongxiang (Group) Co Ltd in April 2001, the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court heard.

Aided by the firm's then financial manager Ding Beili, and then Party secretary Zhang Yong, Qin is said to have deliberately failed to list the three plots as part of the State-owned company's assets.

The trio later sold the plots and transferred the profit into assets of the Shanghai Zhongxiang (Group) Co Ltd, in which they are the major shareholders.

Qin denied committing any crime, but said he had made some mistakes during the company transfer.

In response to several questions, he said he could not remember many of the details of the events.

Qin became a suspect when police were investigating property tycoon Zhou Xiaodi who is alleged to have masterminded an assault against his business partner and conducted illegal land trading.

In April 2001, Qin sold the biggest of the three plots, Sanlin Yide, to Zhou at a low price of 250,000 per mu.

The land was later seized by the Shanghai government and included in its affordable housing plan this year.

Qin and Ding were arrested in February last year.

Zhang Yong was detained in June.

The court hearing is scheduled to run until the end of today.