Chinese Actress Fan Bingbing and her younger brother Fan Chengcheng, who have been shunned by the mainland entertainment industry due to tax controversies, recently had a public debt dispute with the film and television investment company “Dongyang Haile Film and Television Entertainment Co., Ltd.” (referred to as: Haile Film and Television), involving an amount of 67 million yuan.
The incident began on the evening of September 24, when “Haile Film and Television” posted an open letter on social media titled “Miss Fan, Please Repay the Money,” once again bringing the investment dispute to the forefront.
According to reports from “NetEase News,” in 2017, “Haile Film and Television” signed a contract with “Wuxi Aimeishen Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd.,” in which Fan Bingbing held shares, to jointly invest tens of millions in shooting the TV drama “Ba Qing Chuan” (formerly known as “Win the World”). After the completion of the drama, which had not yet been aired, the male lead Gao Yunxiang was involved in a sexual assault case in Australia. At that time, Fan Bingbing’s ex-boyfriend Li Chen replaced Gao Yunxiang’s role and conducted reshoots. Li Chen, out of love, played the lead role with Fan Bingbing.
After the reshoots, the drama seemed ready to air, but during this time, the lead actress Fan Bingbing encountered trouble.
In May 2018, Fan Bingbing was suddenly exposed by CCTV former host Cui Yongyuan for signing a “yin yang contract,” involving tax evasion, leading to an investigation by the authorities. She was required to pay over 880 million yuan in taxes and fines personally, and her company “Aimeishen” was also fined 55 million yuan.
Subsequently, “Ba Qing Chuan” could not be aired, and “Haile Film and Television” sued for the return of the investment.
In September 2021, the Beijing High Court made a final judgment, ordering “Aimeishen” to return the principal investment and profits of 67 million yuan to “Haile Film and Television,” as well as pay a penalty for breach of contract. However, after entering the enforcement phase, “Aimeishen” had no remaining assets under its name, leading to a declaration of bankruptcy.
In the open letter, “Haile Film and Television” expressed that despite the court ruling five years ago, Fan Bingbing’s side had not paid a single penny so far, citing company bankruptcy and liquidation as reasons. They also claimed that they initially thought Fan Bingbing had no money, but later discovered that between 2018 and 2020, “Aimeishen” transferred over 200 million yuan to two other studios under Fan Bingbing’s name, over 9.3 million yuan to actor Wang Yuan, and tens of millions to her brother Fan Chengcheng’s studio.
The open letter revealed that in September 2020, Fan Bingbing transferred 74.5% of the shares of “Aimeishen” to Zhou Haigu…