Court Freezes $182 Million in Assets of Chinese Internet Tycoon
By RYAN McMORROW and OWEN GUOJULY 4, 2017
BEIJING — A court in Shanghai has frozen $182 million in assets tied to the chairman of
the Chinese technology company LeEco after one of its affiliates missed loan payments.
A company spokesman confirmed that the court had frozen assets connected to a loan for LeEco’s
mobile phone business, Le Mobile, but said collateral was enough to cover the debt.
The ruling last week by the Shanghai High People’s Court was the latest setback for the chairman, Jia Yueting,
and for LeEco, which has piled on debt in recent years to fuel its ambitious expansion.
Last week, at a shareholder meeting of LeEco’s main publicly listed arm, Leshi Internet, he acknowledged
that the company had made mistakes in allocating funds
The frozen assets belonged to Mr. Jia, his wife, and three LeEco affiliates, the state news agency Xinhua reported, citing court documents.
It is a personal blow for Mr. Jia, one of China’s most outspoken technology figures,
who in recent years had pledged to challenge American giants like Apple and Tesla.
