The sister of Gu Kailai – the Chinese politician’s wife whose trial for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood begins on Thursday in China – fronted a company that purchased luxury London properties since linked to the scandal-hit family, the Financial Times has found.
The discovery is the latest revelation about the disgraced Chinese politburo member Bo Xilai who officially earned just $20,000 and yet whose family enjoyed a lavish lifestyle aided by foreign fixers such as Mr Heywood, whom his wife is accused of poisoning after a fallout over their “economic affairs”.
UK Land Registry documents obtained by the FT show that legal papers relating to the transfer of two properties worth more than £2m to and from the British Virgin Island company Golden Map were signed by Kuk Mong Kong – the Cantonese spelling of Mrs Gu’s eldest sister’s name Gu Wangjiang.