Neil Heywood killed ‘after threatening to expose business dealings of Bo Xilai’s wife’

It is the first time that the motive for Mr Heywood’s murder has been fleshed
out. Previously, a statement from the Chinese government said that Mrs Gu
and an “orderly” were “highly suspected” of killing Mr Heywood after a
“conflict over economic interests”.

It is unclear how much money Mrs Gu was trying to move overseas, or why she
would entrust the job to Mr Heywood when China has a sophisticated network
of grey channels that are widely used to funnel cash offshore. It is also
not clear when the couple fell out, although friends of Mr Heywood reported
that he had not been close to the Bo family for at least a year before his
death.

Before the disagreement, Mr Heywood had been within the family’s inner circle,
and sources confirmed that he had often been seen in their company.

He was particularly close to Mrs Gu, who is thought to be a godmother to one
of his two children.

One liberal academic in Chongqing, Wang Kang, even claimed that Mr Heywood and
Mrs Gu had a “deep personal relationship”. However, the sources close to the
investigation said there had been no romantic involvement.

On Monday, there was widespread suspicion in Chongqing, even among Mr Bo’s
enemies, over the details of the case as they emerge.

“This is an attempt to destroy Mr Bo’s reputation. He had a reputation for
being a moral person, and they are trying to discredit him in the eyes of
the people. Otherwise he would continue to be supported and they could not
get rid of him,” said one former government official who asked not to be
named.

Mr Bo was suspended from all of his party positions last week, ending his bid
to join the all-powerful nine-man Politburo Standing Committee this autumn.
Few in Chongqing believe that the investigation into Mr Heywood’s death is
not part of the political assassination of Mr Bo by his rivals.

The Chongqing Daily, the official state newspaper, said that the
investigations into Mr Heywood’s death and Mr Bo’s alleged breach of party
discipline, were a “great fortune” for the city, in the latest of a series
of editorials designed to win public support for the politician’s removal.

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