Gome’s Huang Guangyu Stands Trial

Huang Guangyu, founder of the Gome electronics retail chain, has gone on trial on charges of insider trading and bribery, Xinhua reports. Huang has been in detention for more than a year and was indicted in February. The trail opened last Thursday in the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court, the state newsagency says. Huang stands accused of illegal foreign exchange trading via Hong Kong in 2007 and insider trading of Shenzhen-listed technology stocks. He is also accused of offering bribes of 4.6 million yuan ($667,600) to a number of officials. The 41-year-old tycoon was once China’s richest man but last year topped Xinhua’s list of most disgraced executives.

Update: The trail has concluded. In truth it was probably done by the time its opening was announced. No verdict has been announced. Anything less than a conviction and 10 years imprisonment would be a surprise.