(China Plus) Actress Zhao Wei has appeared as a defendant for alleged market violations in hearing held by a Hangzhou court on Wednesday, reports zjol.com.cn.
The hearing, where Zhao sent attorneys on her behalf, is said to be the first among a series to have the actress listed as a joint defendant.
Zhao has been involved in a class-action over her alleged disclosure of misleading information linked to an unsuccessful takeover deal in 2016.
According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Zhao's company attempted to acquire a listed company using a shell entity, and made announcements that were allegedly misleading to the market and investors, thus harming market equality, transparency, and investors' sentiments and confidence in the securities market.
Zhao, along with her husband Huang Youlong, have been banned by the CSRC from China's securities markets for five years, while the company that Zhao had targeted, namely Zhejiang Sunriver Culture (formerly known as Zhejiang Wanjia), announced on September 14, 2018, that it faces over 400 related lawsuits with investors seeking over 50 million yuan in compensation.
It is reported that some of these cases already have Zhao Wei among the defendants list, and that more investors may add the actress as a co-defendant.
Source: China Plus
