A-List Actress Zhao Wei’s Husband Sued Over $38.6 Million Debt

The businessman husband of A-list actress Zhao Wei has been sued in Hong Kong for nearly HK$300 million ($38.6 million) in high-interest debt, three years after the power couple was banned from trading in Shanghai stocks over irregularities related to a failed takeover bid.

Hong Kong-licensed lender Max Pointer Ltd. filed its lawsuit against Huang Youlong in the Hong Kong High Court, saying it was owed two sums of money plus interest. Court documents showed the total figure was HK$298 million, including a one-year loan for HK$100 million and a three-month loan for HK$50 million, both carrying annualized interest rates as high as 24%.

Court documents show that Huang signed two loan agreements in 2016 for money that was due for full repayment by September 2017. But as of May 2017, he had only repaid about HK$23 million in interest. Huang had made three payments by check in June that year, but all of those bounced.

Max Pointer, the plaintiff in the case, is affiliated with another company called Goldenway Group, whose materials show it is engaged in everything from precious metals trading, asset management and real estate development to cultural and media activities.

The lawsuit comes after the power couple made bigger headlines in 2018 when they were prohibited from buying shares in Shanghai for five years and, along with their Tibet Longwei Culture Media Co. Ltd., were fined 1.2 million yuan ($185,000). The Shanghai Stock Exchange enacted the ban after finding that Zhao and Huang misled investors and breached disclosure rules regarding a proposed takeover by Tibet Longwei Culture Media.

The 45-year-old actress, also known as Vicki Zhao, first shot to fame in China in the late 1990s as a star in the TV series “My Fair Princess.” She also received critical accolades for her leading roles in feature films such as “Dearest” and her directing debut “So Young.”

She has also built up a fortune through investments including an early stake in Alibaba Pictures Group. Huang had also partnered with e-commerce billionaire and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma on a private equity deal in 2015.

This story has been updated to correct the amount of money that Zhao Wei’s husband is being sued for. It is HK$300 million.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

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