Pension Fund Scandal Reveals Shanghai Billionaire's Debts

By staff reporters Chen Zhongxiaolu and Shen Hu

(.com.cn) An investigation concerning Shanghai billionaire Yan Liyan unearthed a gaping 3.7 billion yuan debt to the city's social security fund. Secured by Yan's ongoing real estate projects, mortgage loans constituted the main part of the 3.2 billion yuan granted by the city's pension fund in 2005. Yan then invested the money in several other real estate programs, triggering contract disputes. Currently, overdue interest on the loans amount to over 500 million yuan.