China investigates financier son of ex-economic czar Liu He: Financial Times

BEIJING – The Chinese government is investigating the financier son of Mr Liu He, a former vice-premier who headed trade talks with the first Trump administration, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 6, citing seven unidentified people. 

Mr Liu Tianran, who founded investment firm Skycus Capital in 2016 and served as its inaugural chairman, has been under probe and may have lost his freedom, the FT cited one of his former colleagues at Skycus as saying.

The FT said it previously confirmed that the financier is Mr Liu He’s son. 

The investigation, which is said to be over suspected corruption, was triggered by Mr Liu Tianran’s connection with the planned initial public offering by Ant Group that was halted, the FT cited one of the people as saying. 

The authorities found unrelated cases of corruption during the probe, the FT added. Chinese President Xi Jinping was given a report on the claims, according to the newspaper.

Two calls to the spokesman’s office at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China went unanswered outside business hours and a fax to the office did not go through. Skycus was not immediately available for comment. 

Mr Liu Tianran stepped down as chairman at Skycus in April 2017, and his father made it to the Chinese Communist Party’s 25-member politburo later that year, the FT cited business records as showing. After that, he continued to work on deals for the firm, said the FT. 

Skycus accepted funds from tech companies such as Tencent and JD.com and also invested in their spun-off businesses, the paper said. BLOOMBERG