Anbang

Anbang Insurance Group (Chinese: 安邦保险集团; pinyin: Ānbāng Bǎoxiǎn Jítuán) was a Chinese holding company whose subsidiaries mainly deal with insurance, banking, and financial services based in Beijing. As of February 2017, the company had assets worth more than CN¥1.9 trillion (US$301 billion). The Financial Times described Anbang as "one of China's most politically connected companies." Anbang was founded by Wu Xiaohui in 2004 as a regional car insurance company. Chen Xiaolu, a prominent princeling and son of Marshal Chen Yi, served as an early director, although Chen stated that he was merely an advisor and not a shareholder. Its founding shareholders included state-owned car maker Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp., which held a 20% stake. In 2005, state-owned oil company Sinopec bought a 20% share in Anbang. Anbang had more than 30,000 employees in China and was engaged in offering various kinds of insurance and financial products. Anbang's chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was detained in Beijing by government authorities on June 8, 2017, as an investigation of Anbang's activities. In February 2018, China's insurance regulator took control of Anbang, and Wu was prosecuted. On May 10, 2018, Wu Xiaohui was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment after he was found guilty of fraud and embezzlement.