US court tries ex-wife of fugitive Chinese official
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E-mail CRI, May 20, 2015
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Zhao Shilan, ex-wife of Qiao Jianjun, attempts to stop reporters from taking photos outside a court in Los Angeles, US on May 19 local time, 2015. [Photo: Chinanews.com] |
A Chinese woman has made her first court appearance in the US city of Los Angeles on charges of immigration fraud and money laundering.
Zhao Shilan is the ex-wife of a wanted former Chinese official who remains at-large.
Her huband, Qiao Jianjun is also facing immigration and money laundering charges in Los Angeles.
US prosecutors say the pair laundered money from China to buy properties in Seattle.
David Benowitz, a US lawyer, explains during an interview with China Central Televison how the money will be traced:
"When they trace the money, they will probably start on both ends of transaction. They will be looking at what happed in China, try to get records from companies or businesses involved there. They will look at how the money mad its way to the United States whether by wire, by cheque, or by whatever means. And then they'll look at all the records in the United States. So they'll look at emails, text messages, phone records. They'll look at documents and interview people involved in real estate transaction to figure out how this supposedly happened."
Gao Bo with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says Zhao Shilan has two options in front of her.
"One is that she stands trial and serves her time in the United States if found guilty, then returns to China after serving the sentence. The other choice is that through plea bargaining or cooperation with the US Justice Department, she is repatriated to China to stand trial here."
Qiao Jianjun currently sits number-3 on the list of 100 wanted Chinese fugitives still abroad.
He's accused of fleeing to the United States after embezzling some 300 million yuan from a state granary operation.
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