Court upholds sentence on fraudster

Former brokerage executive Shi Xue was given the death sentence with a two-year probation on Friday for fraud and theft involving 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion), the Hainan Daily reported yesterday.

The Hainan provincial high people's court found that Shi had embezzled 260 million yuan, the largest amount for a single defendant in an embezzlement case in China, while serving as president of the now-defunct Dalian Securities Co and head of Hainan Huayin International Trust and Investment Corp since the beginning of 1990s.

The 45-year-old was also charged with forging contracts, stealing company profits and illegally gathering 2.4 billion yuan in deposits from clients.