Verdict on largest underground bank case pronounced

Verdict on largest underground bank case pronounced
www.chinanews.cn 2007-08-07 17:32:24







Chinanews, Beijing, Aug 7 – The Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court on Monday delivered the verdict on the largest underground bank case in Shanghai. The four defendants in the case, Luo Huaitao, Mo Guoji, Li Qirong and Chen Peixiang, were sentenced to 9-14 years in prison, and confiscation of their illegal gains made through foreign currency transactions and the money they used in making such transactions. Three Singaporeans in the case, Luo Huaitao, Mo Guoji, and Li Qirong, were sentenced to deportation, the People's Daily reported.

From January 2004 to April 2006, the four defendants made illegal gains through cross-country foreign currency transactions. The money involved reached 5.3 billion yuan. Luo Huaitao made a total gain of 98,000 Singapore dollars (SGD), while for the three other defendants, Mo Guoji, Li Qirong and Chen Peixiang, their illegal gains reached 84,000 SGD, 240,000 SGD and 30,000 SGD, respectively.

The court ruled that without the approval of China's financial administration institutions, the four defendants, who were staff members of the Singapore an Huanyu Company, conducted foreign currency transactions outside of the legal foreign currency exchange markets in China. They were charged with illegal management. Since the money involved reached 5.3 billion yuan for Luo Huaitao, Mo Guoji, and Li Qirong, and the money involved for Chen Peixiang reached 386 million yuan, the case was considered to be extremely serious.