Neil Heywood was poisoned with cyanide, official Chinese report reveals

In recent weeks, to cement support for action against the Bos, the initial
findings of the investigators have been circulated within the Communist
party.

The report is believed to have been assembled from a “technical police
file” that was handed over by Mr Wang to American diplomats.

Mr Heywood, an experienced China hand who advised Chinese and western
businesses, was never given an official autopsy. His body was quickly
cremated. But Mr Wang is believed to have gathered his own evidence in the
36 hours between the discovery of the body and the announcement of the death
to the British authorities.

He appears to have sat on his findings, covering up Mr Heywood’s death for
three months while he quietly investigated who was behind it.

When his evidence pointed to Mr Bo’s wife, it triggered a crisis that has
split the Communist party leadership.

“The report says that Wang Lijun investigated the case and found evidence
that pointed to Mrs Gu,” said the source. “He then told Mr Bo
about the case.”

According to the narrative that is emerging, and which may be carefully
controlled by the Chinese government, Mr Bo erupted in anger.

In apparent fear for his life, Mr Wang fled, driving 210 miles (325km) to the
United States consulate in Chengdu, which he thought would be a safe haven.

But the US did not shelter Mr Wang and he is now thought to be in the custody
of the Communist party’s central discipline inspection commission in Beijing.

The source in Chongqing said that it was rumoured within the Communist party
that Mr Wang may not be charged, as initially thought, with defection, which
carries a 10-year sentence.

“The notice issued by the authorities said Mr Wang walked out of the
consulate voluntarily. That was very clever. He was careful to stay in the
consulate long enough to catch everyone’s attention, but not long enough to
trigger a serious charge against him,” he said.

Mr Heywood’s death came three days before Jeremy Browne, a Foreign Office
minister, visited Mr Bo in Chongqing. Although the consulate was aware, the
matter was not raised with Mr Bo by Mr Browne.

Questions remain over why British officials in Chongqing did not raise the
alarm sooner over the businessman’s death. But the embassy in Beijing
strongly denied that it had held off for fear of upsetting the Chinese
government.

Yesterday, an embassy spokesman said it remained in close touch with the
Chinese authorities and with Mr Heywood’s family. But he declined to comment
on the findings of the initial investigation.

“We are deeply concerned at the suggestions that Mr Heywood may have been
murdered. As there is an ongoing Chinese police investigation into this
case, it would not be appropriate to comment further,” he said. A
spokesman for the Chongqing government declined to comment on the case.

Mr Heywood had close business connections to the Bo family, who sent their son
Guagua to Harrow and Oxford. Mr Heywood is thought to have advised him on
gaining a place at his old school.

He was also an adviser to Hakluyt, a corporate intelligence firm founded by
former MI6 officers.

As the investigation continues, it has widened to encompass the Bo family’s
finances and its links to the People’s Liberation Army.

An article in the People’s Daily, the Communist party’s official
mouthpiece, warned that corrupt officials often use their wives, children,
friends and mistresses to funnel money overseas. “Some even
clandestinely gain a foreign identity or dual nationality,” it said.

While the article did not name Mr Bo or his wife, it appeared squarely pointed
at them. There has been speculation that Mrs Gu holds either Hong Kong or
Singaporean residency, a status that is banned for Communist party officials
or their families.

An investigation by Bloomberg has revealed that two of Mrs Gu’s sisters, Gu
Wangjiang and Gu Wangning, had control of a web of businesses worth at least
£80 million.

Mrs Gu is one of five daughters of Gu Jingsheng, a People’s Liberation Army
general. Her oldest sister, 64-year-old Gu Wangjiang, is a Hong Kong
national who owns £70 million of shares in an eastern Chinese printing
company, according to filings at the Shenzhen stock exchange.

She and Gu Wangning serve as directors on several other companies and have
made millions selling property in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, three of the five district heads in Chongqing have now been removed
from their posts, sources in the city said, and two more senior police
officers, Guo Weiguo and Li Yang, have been detained for their roles in the
alleged cover-up of Mr Heywood’s murder, according to the South China
Morning Post
.

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