Flower magnate Yang Bin, who was recently put under house arrest for investigations, is reported Tuesday set to either be deported or asked to leave China. The Chinese Government is ready to settle the case of Yang - a Dutch national - within one or two weeks.
"Yang will first resign from the post of the chief executive of the Sinuiju economic zone," the paper quoted informed sources as saying.
He had been chosen by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to head the new special economic zone.
Yang is under police investigations in the northeastern city of Shenyang for illegal business activities. He has been accused of "illegal land use" in the development of a lavish Dutch-themed real-estate in Shenyang, in addition to tax evasion and default of project capital injection, a police source close to the investigation was quoted as saying.
"Land consumed by the real-estate project should have been used for agricultural purposes," the report said.
The real-estate was developed by a Shenyang subsidiary of Yang's Hong Kong-listed company, Euro-Asia Agricultural Holdings Ltd. Shares in Euro-Asia have been suspended from trade since September 30.
It is "highly possible" that the real estate will be auctioned off to pay back taxes owed by Yang's Euro-Asia, the source said.
Yang earlier admitted to owing some 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in back taxes, although he said the bill was unrelated to his Hong Kong-listed firm Euro-Asia.
China's securities regulator has also said the orchid-exporting firm and its affiliate may have falsified accounts ahead of its Hong Kong listing.
(China Daily HK Edition October 16, 2002)
