Zhao Weiguo: Chinese regulator accuses chip tycoon of corruption
China’s anti-fraud watchdog has accused chip tycoon Zhao Weiguo of corruption, in the latest sign of trouble faced by the country’s semiconductor industry.
Mr. Zhao is the former chairman of computer chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup.
Key players in the sector were investigated for corruption last year after the government poured billions of dollars into projects which stalled or failed.
Mr. Zhao and Tsinghua Unigroup did not respond to BBC requests for comment.
In a statement, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection alleges that Mr. Zhao “took the state-owned company he managed as his private fiefdom.”
The regulator says he handed profitable businesses to his relatives and friends and purchased goods and services from companies managed by his associates at “prices significantly higher than the market”.
Mr. Zhao’s case, it adds, has been handed to prosecutors who will file charges against him.
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Tsinghua Unigroup was once a branch of the prestigious Tsinghua University, attended by President Xi Jinping.
Over the last decade, the state-backed company made a series of acquisitions and emerged as one of China’s leading chipmakers.
However, it racked up debt under Mr. Zhao’s leadership and defaulted on several bond payments in 2020.
The company completed a 20-month restructuring last July. This placed it under the control of a consortium led by two state-backed venture capital firms.