The Higher People's Court (HPC) in east China's Zhejiang province on Monday handed businesswoman Wu Ying a death penalty with a two-year reprieve for fundraising fraud after retrial.

The court also ordered that all Wu's personal property be confiscated, and stripped her of political rights for life in final judgement.

In December 2009, Wu, the 31-year-old former owner of the Zhejiang-based Bense Holding Group, was sentenced to death by the Jinhua Intermediate People's Court for cheating investors out of 380 million yuan (60.2 million U.S. dollars).

Wu raised 770 million yuan by promising investors high returns between May 2005 and February 2007, the intermediate court found. She still had 380 million yuan as well as a large amount of unpaid debt with creditors when the case was uncovered.

The intermediate court said Wu amassed the fortune for illegal possession by fabricating facts, deliberately hiding the truth, and promising high returns as an incentive.

The Zhejiang HPC upheld the death sentence on Jan. 18, but the Supreme People's Court overrode the judgement and sent the case back to the Zhejiang HPC for re-sentencing on April 20.