A private company chairman allegedly involved in a pension fund scandal in Shanghai, which led to the dismissal of the municipality's former Party Secretary Chen Liangyu, was yesterday stripped of his membership of the country's top political advisory body.?

The decision was made by the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Zhang Rongkun, chairman of Shanghai Fuxi Investment Holding Company and former director of state-owned Shanghai Electric Group, was taken into custody in July and is under investigation for fraud.

Ranked as China's 16th richest man by Forbes magazine last year, Zhang, 38, has an estimated fortune of 4.9 billion yuan (US$620 million).

Shanghai courts froze the assets of Fuxi, a company controlled by Zhang that holds shares in Shanghai Electric, amid allegations that funds were illicitly loaned by a city pension fund to buy toll roads and other assets.

(China Daily October 17, 2006)