A court in the northeast China city of Dalian Friday opened a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, as well as three of its employees.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange.

The three individuals are the company's vice general manager, Lu Tao, deputy financial director, Xie Honglin, and the chief financial officer of China Minzu Securities, Yang Ying.

According to the indictment, Guo had applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans for the company's construction fund. The three individuals asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps and submitted the forged documents to the bank for the loans.

The bank issued loans totalling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million U.S. dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes.

Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with involvement in fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totalling 13.5 million U.S. dollars. Fugitive criminal suspect Guo Wengui and his son, Guo Qiang, are implicated in the case.

An audience of over 40 people, including legislators, political advisors, lawyers and journalists from domestic and overseas media outlets as well as members of the public, attended the hearing.

The trial is being broadcast via the court's official Weibo microblogging account.

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