Son of former Chinese official remanded in Hong Kong over HK$64m money laundering

Xiao Rui, the 37-year-old son of a former mainland Chinese official, has been remanded in custody in Hong Kong pending sentencing for laundering more than HK$64 million. The funds included a 4 million yuan bribe his father, Xiao Jun, allegedly sought a decade ago.

Xiao Rui was also found guilty of using bogus bank records to deceive the Immigration Department into granting him the right of abode in Hong Kong through a cash-for-residency scheme in 2013. The District Court rejected his assertion that he did not know the documents were false, as his mother handled the immigration procedures. The court also determined that Xiao Rui had no reason to believe the money, channelled through an underground bank over nine years, originated from lawful activity.

Xiao Jun, a former anti-corruption chief at the People’s Procuratorate in Wuhan, was previously suspended following a corruption investigation by mainland authorities.