Chinese man sentenced to life for swindling $1.64 bn

Beijing: A Chinese court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for forging financial documents to swindle USD 1.64 billion from various banks and companies.

Liu Jiyuan, 45, former president of an investment management company in Shanghai, was accused of swindling 10.13 billion yuan (USD 1.64 billion) from several banks and enterprises between November 2008 to November 2010, according to a ruling issued by the Jinan Intermediate People`s Court in eastern province of Shandong. Liu forged seals of banks and companies, loan materials, certificates of deposit and telegraphic transfer as well as cheques for transfer. Liu was also accused of pretending to be bank staff to illegally gather deposit from enterprises, state-run news agency Xinhua reported today. Some 8.29 billion yuan has been retrieved from Liu so far. PTI