Chinese Canadian millionaire Xiao Jianhua, who has not been seen in public since 2017 and is believed to have financial relations with some Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a fine of 55.03 billion yuan ($8.1 billion) by a Shanghai court on August 19.

Xiao and his Tomorrow Holdings conglomerate were found guilty of illegally absorbing public deposits, betraying the use of entrusted property, using funds, and bribery, according to a statement published on social media by the Shanghai First Intermediate Court.

The court stated, "The criminal acts of Tomorrow Holdings and Xiao Jianhua seriously compromised the financial management order, seriously jeopardized the country's financial security, and seriously compromised the integrity of the state staff."

According to the paper, their punishment was decreased since they "turned themselves in, admitted their crimes, and cooperated in recovering illegal gains and restoring losses."

Xiao Jianhua

In January 2017, Xiao made news when he mysteriously vanished from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.

Beijing's plainclothes security operatives, who were not authorized to operate in the former British colony at the time, reportedly abducted Xiao, according to Hong Kong and international media. When asked about Xiao, the city's authorities confirmed he had crossed into mainland China at that time.

Since then, there had been no official word on the business magnate until July this year, when the Canadian Embassy in Beijing announced that Xiao would face trials. Although he was born in China, the 50-year-old is a Canadian citizen with a diplomatic passport from Antigua and Barbuda.

His trials commenced on July 4th. In a statement released on Friday, the court highlighted that members of the National People's Congress, the regime's rubber-stamp legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, its advisory body, attended his trials.

Analysts speculated that the purpose of Xiao's sentencing was to send a strong message to the political opponents of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is pursuing an unprecedented third term in office this fall.

A source within the CCP's headquarters informed The Epoch Times that Xiao had tight relations with former Party vice-chairman Zeng Qinghong, a significant member of a political party that opposes Xi's leadership and is known as the "Jiang faction" for its loyalty to former CCP leader Jiang Zemin. According to the source, Xiao was a prominent money launderer for the Jiang faction.

According to China researcher Yuan Hongbing, however, numerous more CCP leaders are participating in Xiao's firm. According to Yuan, the investigation into the millionaire enabled Xi to collect evidence of corrupt activities between Xiao and other top Party officials, which he then used to eliminate his rivals.

Li Linyi, a Chinese pundit, told The Epoch Times on Friday, "Xiao's sentence could be interpreted as a warning to all cliques, particularly the Jiang faction, ahead of the 20th National Congress." It is the product of political strife.

Tomorrow's Holdings

Tomorrow Holdings, founded in 1999, has a diverse portfolio of investments from banking, insurance, and real estate to rare-earth metals.

Before Xiao's disappearance, his corporate empire was valued at approximately $5.8 billion, making him the 32nd richest person in China in 2016, according to the Hurun report.

The court stated on Friday that between 2001 to 2021, Xiao and Tomorrow Holdings transferred a total of 680 million yuan ($99.7 million) in shares, real estate, cash, and other assets to officials to circumvent financial supervision and get illegal benefits.

In July 2020, Chinese regulators confiscated nine institutions affiliated with the group.

Four insurers (Tianan Property Insurance Co. of China, Huaxia Life Insurance Co., Tianan Life Insurance Co., and Yi'an P&C Insurance Co.) and two trust companies (New Times Trust Co. and New China Trust Co.) were among the nine companies. Chengtong Securities, Guosheng Securities, and Guosheng Futures were the other three.

The court found that beginning in 2004, Xiao and Tomorrow controlled several financial institutions and internet financial platforms, including the defunct Baoshang Bank, through multiple indirect shareholder layers and anonymous ownership.