(Yicai Global) Aug. 30 -- Zhu Yidong, chairman of Shanghai Fuxing Financial Holding Group, whois charged withmanipulating shareprices,hasbeen frogmarched back to China after two months'on the lamabroad,statemedia CCTVreportedyesterday.

The Shanghai-basedFuxing Groupwhichthe 36-year-oldreturned fugitivecontrolledis a large private companywhosebusinessspans commercial real estate, asset management, finance, rareearthmetals, healthcare, trade, cultural media and otherfields.Itmanaged assetsof more thanCNY35 billion (USD5.12 billion)last year,of whichtradingmade up overCNY30billion, according to the company's official website.

Zhu Yidong andhis sidekickLi Weiwei--the latterstyled'North China's top trader'--used 25 institutional accounts and 436 individualones toleaventhe share price ofNortheast China-basedDalian Insulator Groupwhich they acquired for the purpose, pushing it upover twofoldfrom June 28, 2016 to March 1last year, informationfromthe China Securities Regulatory Commission shows.

The commissionhasbarredLi from the securitiessectorfor life,imposeda CNY2 million(USD292,000)fine and bannedZhu for three yearswhile levyinga CNY600,000(USD87,500)fine -- in absentia, of course.Fuxing Group and others implicatedhavealsosuffered sanctions.

Zhudisappearedwithoutatraceinlate June andwas thereafter at large inseveral countries.Zhu, whohas a strongcounter-surveillanceability,"turned off his communication tools andseveredhis communications with the mainland"aspolice quested after him.

Hemanaged to make good hisescape several timesas local dragnets closed in around him, before he was finally run to groundin the fifth countryto whichheabsconded.The policewho collared him foundfake passports forforeigncountries, Shanghai policetoldCCTVin aninterview.

Not content with merestock manipulation,however,Zhu'scompanyalsoillegallyissuedhundredsofprivateequityfundproducts on its private placement platform, with the total amountinvolvedexpected to reachCNY18 billion,thelatestinformationshows.

After Zhuflapped off the radar screen, these fundswent into dominodefaults, leavingPing An Bank, China Everbright Bank, Bank of Shanghai, China Merchants Bank, HengFeng Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bankand otherfinancial institutionsholding the babyastheircustodians.

Zhu, a Shanghainese 'fu er dai,' or second-generation rich, was a preppy boy born to be bad. He chose outlawry over privilege and conventionality, apparently for the sheer fun of it. He certainly didn't seem to need the money, as he had billions to play around with, though much of it may indeed have belonged to others, particularly toward the end. Perhaps he will plead an 'affluenza' defense to the battery of charges he now faces.

Editor: Ben Armour