Lai Changxing - Knowledge

44: 842:. In the same corruption case, one of the largest in modern Chinese history, many high-level municipal and provincial officials were sacked and a few were sentenced to life in prison or death. The complex smuggling case shifted the entire political scene in Fujian by the late 1990s. A special task force operation was created by the government to track down Lai on April 20, 1999, called "4.20" (420专案组) with about 1200 investigators. 132: 864:, said that it was doubtful Lai could ever get a fair trial in China, given the extent of the Communist Party's influence in the opaque judicial system. Matas has filed for an assessment of whether Lai's family are at risk if they are returned to China. As long as immigration officials are considering this request, he says, they may not be removed from Canada. 726:. This, according to August, suggested the entire government knew of Lai's corruption for a long time. Lai also purportedly gave money to Zhu Niuniu, son of former deputy commander of China's 31st army from Xiamen. Zhu constantly threatened to expose Lai's smuggling if he did not help him with his financial problem from gambling at the 442:. He imported foreign products like cars, cigarettes and was responsible for one-sixth of the national oil imports at one time. In the late 1990s, he was implicated in corruption scandals involving a large smuggling ring. By 1999, he was described by several media organizations as "China's most wanted fugitive". 711:

Lai's corruption of what was said to be literally hundreds of Chinese officials was effected through paying millions of dollars in bribes, by hosting lavish banquets and by giving jobs to relatives of local bureaucrats. He also blackmailed officials, through filming them with prostitutes arranged by

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Lai's corruption is known to have reached the top levels of the Chinese government. He has publicly declared in the past that if he returned to China: "many high government officials will not be able to sleep. Incidents will happen." In relation to the case, 14 people have already been executed,

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Canada does not have the death penalty and is prohibited from deporting accused criminals to countries where they will face capital punishment. China claimed that he would not be executed if extradited from Canada. Canadian courts did not believe this guarantee, due to certain CPC bias in any trial

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him. Such arrangements enabled his companies to receive illicit import licenses and to avoid billions of dollars in import taxes. Lai's level of corruption of officials was to such a degree that corrupted naval officers allegedly ordered naval ships to escort freighters carrying Lai's contraband.

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in 2000. Leung apparently secretly warned Lai about the immigration department's pending warrant for his arrest. Leung also suggested Lai move to Canada to escape arrest. However, the HK government later responded that the claim was totally baseless as the officer was already dead and could not

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Lai was believed to be the mastermind of a US$ 10 billion scheme, during which he allegedly bribed high level officials in the administration of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone in order to smuggle luxury cars and entire tanker-loads of oil into the country. The smuggling ring fraudulently

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In the mid-1990s Xiamen no longer regulated maximum building heights. Many rich businessmen tried to build the tallest skyscrapers. Lai built the 88-floor Yuanhua tower and the Yuanhua International Centre with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by 2000 guests. Each guest received a 3000-yuan

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In 1990 Lai tried to run a business to import duty-free TVs, where he made thousands. Two government officials from Shaocuo demanded fees be paid to them. When Lai refused, the two officials went to his house. At the time Lai was not home, but his sister was. The officials asked for business

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granted Lai a work permit. Canadian officials acknowledged that Lai did not have access to the vast fortune they thought he had upon arrival in Canada back in 1999. Lai has said his legal and living expenses were being funded by friends, whom he has declined to identify, saying they could be in

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the situation was greatly milder due to massive overseas Chinese donations and better leadership (unlike Tingzhou where about 100,000 Hakkas starved to death due to the Great Famine), his family also survived because his father converted a swamp into a personal vegetable field during the most

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accounts, but she refused to give in. She was then beaten severely and sent to the hospital. The officials then started a tax fraud case. Lai would win in court, but his revenge campaign against Communist officials would tie up his businesses. Lai left Shaocuo and from this point on.

801:. Lai was a regular customer at the casino where at one time bought as much as US$ 3 million worth of chips. Canadian police noticed him and suspected he was involved in money laundering or loan-sharking. Lai and his family then made a claim to stay in Canada as refugees. 659:

was offered 10 million yuan if she took her clothes off for Lai, who was drunk at the time. She purportedly did take off her clothes for the money, and disappeared from public view. She returned to state-run television after 3 years. Others include Li Jizhou

513:. Lai began working at a farming machinery factory before it shut down. At age 20 Lai started a business making simple car parts. The business took off and turned into an empire. Within a decade he was the country's biggest private car importer. 544:. The group was heavily involved in the importing/smuggling of cars, cigarettes and oil. The group invested heavily in the city's real estate, hotels, clubs, roads and other infrastructure. Lai also has his own brand of Fairwell cigarettes. 2167: 604:. The mansion hired girls that were at least 5 ft 6 inches tall and have a highschool diploma at a salary of US$ 1000 a month. The girls were offered as sex mistresses and prostitutes to government officials. 722:, known for his anti-corruption stand and for repeatedly saying publicly that Lai needs to be executed, met Lai twice. In one meeting an offer was allegedly made for Lai to pay US$ 125 million in exchange for 449:, British Columbia. After a lengthy extradition battle and diplomatic negotiations, Canadian authorities deported him to China on July 22, 2011, upon promises that he would not be executed. He was sentenced to 789:

Vancouver. His kids went to private schools at a cost of US$ 4,000 a year and his wife opened a bank account with a deposit of US$ 1.5 million. They were chauffeur-driven around in a US$ 90,000

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Following his detention in Canada, Lai was able to obtain his release, pending the hearing into his refugee claim, by placing himself under house arrest. He returned to the family's luxury condo in

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On May 18, 2012, Lai Changxing was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of smuggling and bribery by the Intermediate People's Court in Xiamen. In addition, all of his property was confiscated.

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Despite his massive empire of wealth, Lai often smuggled goods into China and broke numerous trade laws. He has also been referred as "the one who destroys lives" and "the corrupted smuggler".

160: 875:, which in April had refused to hear Lai's appeal of the June 2002 Refugee Board decision, on the grounds that Lai and his wife failed to meet the standards to be designated as refugees. 556:

avoided US$ 3.6 billion in taxes and fees. Chinese authorities do not comment on allegations that Lai's Yuanhua group was also a conduit for clandestine military shipments, such as

943: 924: 914:, said that, the extradition of Lai must be conducted using Canadian laws. In early stages, Lai's Refugee Application was refused, with the possibility of extradition to China. 1835: 823:, a suburb of Vancouver, and agreed to pay $ 80,000 per month to live under the guard of a private security firm. Notwithstanding such arrangements, Lai was observed by 946:

has expressed satisfaction concerning this decision, referring to Lai as responsible for the "biggest economic crime in the history of the People's Republic of China."

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defended Lai, saying he is only a criminal because of China's communist economic system and that with a free market, there would be no need for smugglers like Lai.

567:'s terminal building 2, funded by Lai, was one of the biggest airport structure in the country. In 1997 Xiamen's party secretary even made him an honorary citizen ( 767: 1228: 758:

Lai resided in Fujian province before he moved to Hong Kong in April 1991. While he was in HK, the Chinese government pursued him. Lai explained to the

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Nevertheless, Lai has repeatedly been denied political refugee status in Canada, for example by a ruling in September 2005 by the Supreme Court in

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Lai divorced his wife in June 2005. In 2009 Lai was granted a working permit and worked at a Vancouver real-estate company as a consultant.

1717: 1483: 716: 434:(born September 15, 1958) is a former Chinese businessman and entrepreneur. He was the founder and Chairman of Yuanhua Group, based in the 2081: 2107: 1839: 2147: 1987: 1769: 1108: 140: 2172: 646: 1543: 552:. Lai had prominent connections with the Fujian power elite; he was also a member of the Provincial Consultative Conference. 2157: 1894: 1877: 1704: 1530: 1469: 1452: 1344: 1322: 1286: 1190: 1147: 1092: 1075: 1058: 995: 978: 214: 1594: 911: 89: 637:, Lai is known to be financially linked with high-ranking Chinese officials and celebrities. Some of the people include 186: 2177: 2142: 1620: 1357: 759: 564: 1930: 233: 193: 113: 1889: