Wine Spectator: Chinese Billionaire’s Money Laundering Conviction Shocks Bordeaux

A Paris tribunal has found Qu Naijie, the 63-year-old founder of Chinese corporation Haichang Group, guilty of money laundering, sentencing him to a three-year suspended prison sentence, a €1 million fine and the confiscation of nine of his Bordeaux châteaus, worth an estimated €35.5 million ($38.4 million).

The case has stunned Bordeaux. Qu was one of several wealthy Chinese figures who arrived in the region a decade ago, buying lesser-known châteaus with plans to invest in and market them to the growing Chinese wine market. Now, both Chinese and French authorities have accused him of running a scam. Wine Spectator has the full story.

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