Society

Self-burning man suspected of illegal financing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-07-06 06:33

HOHHOT - A company's chairman who burned himself to death in April in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region was suspected of illegal financing of up to 2.44 billion yuan ($378 million), police said Tuesday.

Jin Libin, 44, late chairman of Baotou Huilong Trading Co Ltd committed suicide on April 13. Subsequent investigations show that the company was 943 million yuan in debt when Jin killed himself, said Baotou municipal police in a press conference Tuesday.

Police found that Jin's company had raised 2.23 billion yuan from the public and took out 217 million yuan in bank loans from June 2004 to April 2011.

The company could make ends meet at the beginning, but later in order to polish the company's image and go public, the company ended up in a vicious circle with more borrowing and rising interest repayments, said Man Dula, deputy head of the municipal police.

"In order to sustain the glamorous facade, Jin purchased fancy cars and donated large sums of money even after his company went under," Man said.

The company is now insolvent and police have seized the company's 36 vehicles, two properties and frozen 7.07 million yuan in bank accounts, Man said.

Nine people have been arrested and are expected to be taken to court in August, Man said.