Fan Bingbing Fined ¥884 Million for Tax Evasion

By That's, October 3, 2018

China's missing superstar actress Fan Bingbing has been fined hundreds of millions of yuan for tax evasion, Xinhua reports.

Fan, who has disappeared from the public eye since being accused of tax fraud by television presenter Cui Yong Yongyuan in June, was ordered to pay taxes and fines said to be in the nine-figure range by the nation's tax authorities. Fan and her companies were ordered to pay fines and fees totaling to nearly RMB884 million (USD129 million) by an undisclosed deadline.

Cui's allegations prompted authorities to launch an investigation into the actress' alleged 'yin-yang' contracts, an illegal practice common in China's television and film industry. With 'yin-yang' contracts, actors sign double contracts, one of which covers a lower fee while the other is considered tax-free income. Only the lower fee contract is declared in order to avoid steeper taxes.

If Fan doesn't pay the fines within the prescribed time limit, she could face criminal charges. However, as a first time offender, she won't be prosecuted if the fines are paid in full.

Meanwhile, South China Morning Post reports that a source close to Fan says she had been kept in detention at a "holiday resort" in Jiangsu province and has since been transfered up north to Beijing for further investigation.

The actress issued an apology on Weibo (translation via Patrick Wong and Sijia Jiang):

"In terms of a series of punishment resolutions by the Tax Bureau, I totally accepted all of them, and will raise funds to compensate tax and penalties regardless of any obstacles... In the aftermath of this overhaul, I believe I can follow regulations, pay attention to order and take the burden of responsibility... Without the Party and the state's good policies, without the love from the people, there would have been no Fan Bingbing."

[Top image via Wikimedia Commons]