2010-04-23 00:18

BEIJING - Huang Guangyu, former chairman of Chinese electronics retailer giant Gome, faced charges of illegal business dealings, insider trading and bribery Thursday at a Beijing court.

In an open trial at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, Huang was charged for illegally trading 822 million Hong Kong dollars from September to November 2007.

He was accused of insider trading of stocks of Shenzhen-listed Beijing Centergate Technologies (Holding) Co., Ltd., which involved more than 1.415 billion yuan ($207 million), from April to September 2007.

Prosecutors also accuse Huang of bribing five government workers with 4.56 million yuan in cash and properties from 2006 to 2008 in exchange for improper benefits for Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings and Beijing Pengrun Real Estate Development Company, when he was legal representative of those companies.

Huang's wife, Du Juan, and one of Huang's business partners, Xu Zhongmin, were also charged with insider trading.

Their lawyers spoke on for the defendants at the court. But journalists who were present were barred from disclosing any detailed information of the hearing.

A Xinhua reporter who attended the hearing was asked not to bring cell phone or pen and notebook into the court.

Hong Kong-listed Gome opened at 2.7 Hong Kong dollars ($0.35) per share in Thursday trade, compared with 2.72 HK dollars at the end of the previous trading day.

Huang resigned as a Gome director in January 2009, but he is still the largest shareholder.

The 41-year-old tycoon, listed by the Hurun Report as China's richest man in 2004, 2005 and 2008, was detained by Beijing police in November 2008.