Ally of disgraced Chinese Communist Party leader dies in prison

Chinese tycoon Xu Ming, a former business ally of Bo Xilai and a key witness in the disgraced Communist Party official's trial, has died in prison of illness, according to local media.

Mr Xu had been chairman of Dalian Shide Group, and was once China's eighth richest man. The 44-year-old reportedly died of heart problems at a prison in Wuhan in central Hubei province, the Tencent website reported, although his family told local media he had no history of such issues.

Family and friends brought the coffin to his home town, the northeastern port city of Dalian, on Sunday.

In what was seen as a major faction fight within the ranks of the Communist Party, Bo Xilai was removed as party boss of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing and from the ruling party’s decision-making politburo in 2012. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for corruption and abuse of power.

Mr Xu was at the centre of the most lurid revelations during Mr Bo's trial, as the former rising star in China's Communist Party firmament detailed the illicit financial relationship between his friend and his own wife, Gu Kailai, who was jailed for the murder of the British businessman Neil Heywood.

Vast conglomerate

At its height, Dalian Shide was a vast conglomerate, a major supplier of everything from building materials to plastics to home appliances and financial products. Among its biggest public holdings was the Dalian Shide football club, which was one of the biggest clubs in

China

before Mr Xu’s departure.

Mr Xu’s disappearance ahead of Mr Bo’s trial in 2013 was a clear sign that Mr Bo was in trouble, although his arrest was never made public. His sentence was also never made public.

Among the details revealed in the trial by Ms Gu was that she had asked Mr Xu to pay for a villa in France.

Mr Bo, who had been mayor of Dalian during the 1990s, insisted during his trial that he had “no knowledge” of the financial relationship between his wife and Mr Xu.

One of the charges on which Mr Bo was convicted was of accepting 20.7 million yuan (€3 million) in bribes from Mr Xu between 2000 and 2012. The prosecution also claimed that Mr Xu had bought Ms Gu and Mr Bo’s son Bo Guagua expensive gifts, including holidays and designer watches.

During the trial, Mr Bo said Mr Xu knew that he wasn’t involved in the transactions of which he was eventually convicted.

“I asked Xu Ming 30 questions, and he answered no, no, no, no,” he said at the time.