How a Florida Shopping Mall Ended Up in the Hands of a Chinese Fugitive
Posted: May 18, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Crime & Corruption | Tags: Broward County, China, Chinese language, Fashion Mall, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Lawsuit, Shopping mall, South Florida, United States Leave a comment
The Fashion Mall hasn’t much lived up to its name. Already faltering a decade ago, the South Florida shopping mall has since been hammered by a hurricane, vacated by its tenants and put into bankruptcy, all the time, it turns out, being partially owned by a fugitive from China. As WSJ’s Esther Fung and Kris Hudson report:
Busted plans to redevelop the dilapidated mall have featured in a lawsuit between its Chinese investors. Du Zhenzeng, a steel baron from northern China, sued his naturalized American business partner, Wei Chen, for using their business “as his personal piggy-bank” to fund a flashy lifestyle that includes a Bentley and yacht trips, according to testimony in that lawsuit.
[read the full story on WSJ.com]
In a court hearing in October in Fort Lauderdale, Mr. Du’s lawyers said he invested nearly $160 million in the mall development project. Mr. Chen said the funds Mr. Du promised never materialized…. (more)
pundit from another planet 