安邦創始人吳小暉一審獲刑18年

Wu Xiaohui, the Chinese tycoon who rose to international prominence to buy the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday after having pleaded guilty to defrauding investors.

週四，安邦集團創始人、前董事長吳小暉因集資詐騙、職務侵佔罪一審獲刑18年。

Mr. Wu was convicted by a court in Shanghai of using the company he founded, Anbang Insurance Group, to cheat investors out of more than $10 billion, in one of China’s biggest cases of financial crime.

上海市第一中級人民法院宣佈了判決，稱吳小暉利用安邦保險集團騙取投資者652億餘元，這已成爲中國最大的金融犯罪案件之一。

Facing a potential life sentence, Mr. Wu had pleaded guilty to the charges and asked the court to consider a lighter sentence.

面對可能會被判處無期徒刑，吳小暉表示認罪，並請求法庭考慮減輕刑罰。

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court handed down its sentence as 50 people, including members of Mr. Wu’s family, sat in the courtroom, according to a statement from the court.

根據上海市第一中級人民法院的一份聲明，50餘人在法庭內旁聽了宣判，其中包括吳小暉的家人。

Mr. Wu was thrust into the spotlight in February when the government seized Anbang, in part of a crackdown on companies that have acquired too much debt by bingeing on overseas assets.

今年2月，中國政府在對通過收購海外資產而舉債過多的公司進行打擊時，查封了安邦，吳小暉成爲公衆關注的焦點。

He initially contested the charges in March during his first and only appearance in the court, which included allegations that he had instructed his employees to flee overseas and change their contact information when the government began investigating the company last year.

在3月首次出庭時，吳小暉曾對指控提出異議，這些指控包括，他在2017年政府開始調查該公司時，曾指示員工逃往海外，並更改了他們的聯繫方式。

“I repent deeply, I know and regret my crimes,” Mr. Wu said then in a televised statement from the court.

“我深刻懺悔，知罪悔罪，”吳小暉後來在法庭播出的電視聲明中說。

Anbang went on an international buying spree in recent years, most notably acquiring the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan for $2 billion.

近年來，安邦在海外大舉收購，最引人注目的是以20億美元的價格收購了曼哈頓標誌性的華爾道夫酒店(Waldorf Astoria)。

When the government seized Anbang earlier this year, it shook investors as far as Vancouver, where the company owns a retirement home, and Amsterdam, where it owns an insurance company.

安邦被政府接管的消息在全球引起了反響，令遠至溫哥華和阿姆斯特丹的投資者震驚不已，安邦在溫哥華擁有一座養老院，在阿姆斯特丹擁有一家保險公司。

Chinese prosecutors accused Mr. Wu of a convoluted scheme in which he hid his control in Anbang through of a web of companies. According to the prosecutors, Mr. Wu instructed employees to falsify financial statements and marketing information. In this way, the government said, Mr. Wu was able to skirt regulations and raise money from the public.

中國檢方指控吳小暉陰謀策劃騙局，稱其通過一個公司網絡將他對安邦的控制權隱藏了起來。檢方稱，吳小暉指使員工僞造財務報表和營銷信息。通過這種方式，政府表示，他能夠避開監管，向公衆籌集資金。

The court said in a statement that it had seized Mr. Wu’s bank accounts, real estate and equity.

法院在一份聲明中說，吳小暉的銀行賬戶、房產和股權已被查封、凍結。

In a response on Thursday, Anbang said that Mr. Wu had been removed from his duties as chairman of the company, adding that its operations are under government supervision.

安邦週四表示，吳小暉已被免去董事長的職務，並補充道，它的業務現在由政府監管。

“Anbang has sufficient cash flow to fulfill its commitments to all customers and ensure that the legitimate rights of policyholders are effectively protected,” the company said in a statement.

該公司在一份聲明中表示：“安邦現金流充裕，能夠履行對所有安邦客戶的保單承諾，確保保單持有人的合法權益不受損失。”

Mr. Wu’s lawyer, Zhai Jian, declined to comment.

吳小暉的律師拒絕置評。