CHINA: He's out and proclaiming his innocence. Gu Chujun, the former multi-millionaire chairman of refrigerator manufacturer Kelon, sentenced to 10 years for 'economic crimes' in 2005, has made claims of being framed after his release from jail.
At a press conference last Friday, Gu Chujun, bizarrely wearing a pointed hat saying 'I am completely innocent', accused Chinese stock market commissioners of taking bribes from fellow Chinese manufacturer Midea.
He claims that Midea was one of a dozen companies aiming to acquire Kelon when the stock market commissioners launched a probe into Kelon in April 2005. Eventually the Hisense Group acquired a majority stake in the business and the name was changed to Hisense Kelon Electrical Holdings in 2007.
Midea has vehemently denied the allegations, saying that Mr Gu's remarks 'were without any basis in fact' and that the allegations had done serious damage to the reputation of the Company. 'The Company reserves through legal channels investigated the rights of their legal responsibilities,' the statement added.
Mr Gu was well-known in the UK in the early 1990s when he set up Gu Thermo Technology in Southampton, introducing a range of drop-in refrigerants under the Greencool brand. The major selling point of the range of CFC and HCFC refrigerants was said to be improved energy efficiencies.
Mr Gu's original 12-year sentence and fine of £660,000 was imposed for embezzlement, failing to disclose required information and filing a false financial report.
In what was described at the time as 'the biggest corruption case since the founding of communist China', Mr Gu was found guilty of falsely registering the capital of Greencool Enterprise Development Company, which he set up in 2001; publishing falsified financial reports for the listed Kelon; and embezzling over $40m from Kelon and two other companies.
Mr Gu founded Greencool in the early 1990s and acquired Kelon, China's biggest refrigerator-maker at the time, in late 2001. He was estimated to be worth $170m before his incarceration and in 2004 was at no 80 in China's rich list.