China mining tycoon sentenced to death

Former mining magnate, philanthropist and ugly crier Liu Han was sentenced to death today on charges of leading a "mafia-style" gang on a crime spree that spanned two decades, Xinhua said.

A mining tycoon with ties to Zhou Yongkang, China’s former security chief, was sentenced to death on Friday for organised crime, in one of the few criminal trials to date that appear linked to a political purge.

Liu Han’s trial in central China included 35 other people charged with “organising, leading and participating in Mafialike groups”, and was sparked after his brother was accused of gunning down three people in their home town.

Liu, former chairman of Sichuan-based miner Hanlong Group, was heading a A$1.4bn bid for Australian-listed Sundance Resources when he and his wife were detained in March 2013. The bid for Sundance collapsed after the Chinese group could not secure finance.

Liu, who denied the charges, was once the biggest private entrepreneur in his native Sichuan province, with investments spanning financing, energy, real estate and mining. He had a fortune of $650m, according to estimates by the Hurun report, which tracks wealthy Chinese.

His case has become embroiled with a year-long anti-corruption investigation into the power base of Mr Zhou – until November 2012 one of the most powerful men in the country – probing the activities of rich businessmen in Sichuan province. Mr Zhou’s son, Zhou Bin, invested in a hydropower dam and tourist project in Sichuan with Liu.

In his defence, Liu argued that his wealth had grown as he helped carry out favours on behalf of unidentified leaders, and testified that he had been tortured while in custody, according to media reports from unpublished transcripts of the trial.

The court fined Hanlong Rmb300m ($48m) for loan fraud, faking tax receipts and other financing crimes. Earlier Chinese media reports said that Hanlong had helped influential Chinese state-owned companies claim fake tax receipts in return for low-interest loans.

Prosecutors argued that Liu covered up murders committed by his brother, Liu Wei, who allegedly ran gambling rings in their home town of Guanghan, Sichuan, and said that nine people died due to the activities of the gang. Liu Wei was also sentenced to death.

The two men were also charged with raising money through high interest rate lending and stock marketmanipulation, and helped Chinese citizens gamble in Macau – a location often used to channel money overseas. Neither Liu, or his brother, could be reached for comment on the allegations.

Liu is also known to have donated money to build a school in Sichuan province – one of the few to stay intact during the major earthquake in May 2008 that claimed at least 69,000 lives. Nearly 500 students and teachers survived at the Liu Han Hope primary school in Haiyuan village, while other nearby schools crumbled.