[1] Canadian diplomats were denied access to his trial by a Shanghai court, which sentenced him to 13 years in jail and fined his company more than $8 billion for embezzlement and bribery.
[4][5] Xiao attended Peking University at age 14 on a scholarship,[6] and he was a member of the Chinese Communist Party on campus.
[5] Xiao reportedly, "worked on behalf of a number of powerful families," in China over the course of his career,[4] and he has been described by The New York Times as "a banker for the ruling class.
[9][10] According to news reports, Xiao was also involved with the business Pacific Securities,[5] a company later accused of facilitating money laundering.
However, in 2012, Tomorrow Holding bought back a 36% stake in Zhengyuan Investment from shareholders other than Beijing Beida Jade Bird.
[18] According to a report published in 2017, orders for Xiao's detention had been given in 2013, but contacts within the Chinese government had informed him first and he had fled to Hong Kong.
[6][7] Five or six plain-clothed agents accosted Xiao and, after a meeting inside his room, led him and his two bodyguards away through one of Hong Kong's border crossings.
According to sources, Xiao was whisked away in a wheelchair with his head covered, there were no signs of scuffles outside his room and he appeared to have gone willingly after the meeting.
[6] In September 2018, a report from the South China Morning Post citing unnamed sources stated that Xiao would soon be brought to trial over the crimes of "manipulating stock and futures markets" and "offering bribes on behalf of institutions".