A powerful property tycoon in China has confessed to robbing a bank 16 years ago and using the money to start up his massive empire now worth billions.
Identified only by the surname Shi, the 53-year-old was arrested last week in central China's Zhumadian city for a crime he committed in December 1999, reports The People's Daily Online.
At the time five armed suspects broke into a bank in the city of Zhengzhou, injuring two clerks and walking away with 2.8 million yuan (£290,000) in cash.
On the morning of October 21, more than 80 undercover police investigators rushed to the Zhumadian, Henan province, and arrested five suspects including billionaire Shi.
Busted: The billionaire known as Shi sits in handcuffs after confessing to robbing a bank in 1999
The property tycoon's face is covered as he taken away by plain clothed police in the city of Zhumadian
Shi is said to be well known in Zhumadian for being an extremely powerful and successful property tycoon.
He runs a number of businesses including industrial real estates, development and trade companies, and leisure farms. All earning him a fortune.
As well as property, he has billions invested in local businesses and often hosts regular charity events. All of this has influenced the community he lives in.
After he was arrested, Shi admitted to breaking into the bank with four armed suspects and stealing the money 16 years ago.
Shi told police that before the robbery in the early 1990’s he was not satisfied with his income as a construction worker. So he gathered a group of guys who were working as painters for a ‘secret job.’
Then for three months leading up to the raid they hatched a plan to rob the bank which included a well-designed escape route.
In carrying out the raid a the suspects seriously injured a man, who was shot in the head and left in a pool of blood. A woman was also injured in the raid but the details surrounding her injuries are unclear.
The whole process which involved the suspects dressed as business men took just five minutes.
Vital clue: Investigator holds the hammer that became a key part in solving the 16 year-old case (left). Sitting before the authorities after his arrest the billionaire bandit admitted a robbery he committed in 1999 (right)
Vital clue: Investigator holds the hammer that became a key part in solving the 16 year-old case (left). Sitting before the authorities after his arrest the billionaire bandit admitted a robbery he committed in 1999 (right)
It was a case that shocked the whole country as there have been no arrests since it took place in 1999.
Many of the investigators working on the case are now retired but they never gave up. From a list of 158 suspects they eventually narrowed it down to five.
16 years later the Zhengzhou City Public Security Bureau held a press conference to confirm the mystery of the 1999 bank robbery had successfully been solved.
At the conference Police Inspector Ba Xizheng said: 'With the modernization of criminal technology, after tireless efforts, investigators and technical personnel on-site finally found a breakthrough that led us to Zhumadian.'
Hidden identity: Only known by the surname Shi, the billionaire is dragged away by police in Zhumadian
A vital piece of evidence in the investigation was a hammer that was used to break the bullet proof glass during the raid.
The police managed to track down its manufacturer which led them to a market in Zhengzhou where they were sold. 24 had been bought in the time leading up to the robbery.
Investigators tracked down the whereabouts of 16 hammers which left eight unaccounted for, which eventually led them to the five suspects.
The authorities in Zhengzhou said Shi - a construction project contractor who regularly hosted charity events - claimed most of the money from the robbery and used it to develop his real estate in the southern Chinese city of Zhumadian, earning him billions.
No going back: Shi is taken away by investigators. It has taken 16 years to solve the case of the bank robbery in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou where two people were seriously injured
