|
|
Nine Bordeaux châteaux were confiscated by order of a Paris court on Wednesday. The owner is Chinese businessman Naijie Qu, head of the Haichang Group, which made its fortune in the oil and leisure park business in Dalian in northern China. He bought the wineries at the beginning of the 2010s. In connection with investigations by the Chinese Court of Accounts, Qu was accused in 2023 of embezzling money from the Chinese state earmarked for investments in digital technologies for the Château acquisitions.
He was also accused of obtaining a loan of 30 million euros from the Luxembourg subsidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) using forged invoices. The financial structure was to be concealed with mutual settlements of debts and receivables from companies in tax havens. In total, Qu had bought 27 wineries in five years, which he claimed were "neglected and loss-making".
In 2024, he was sentenced to three years' probation and a fine of one million euros, while his employee was sentenced to 18 months' probation and a fine of 50,000 euros for forgery, falsification of documents and fraud. The lawyer for the two Chinese nationals is considering lodging an appeal. According to the magazine "Forbes", Naijie Qu has a fortune of over 700 million euros.
(al / Source: La Revue du Vin de France)