China orders actress Fan Bingbing to pay massive tax fine

Beijing — Chinese media say tax authorities have ordered X-Men star Fan Bingbing to pay taxes and fines worth hundreds of millions of yuan but would spare her from criminal prosecution.

The official Xinhua News Agency's announcement on Wednesday ended months of speculation over the fate of the actress since she disappeared from public view in June amid reports she was being investigated for tax fraud.

The report gave no indication as to Fan's whereabouts but indicated her agent was being held by police for allegedly obstructing the investigation.

Xinhua cited tax authorities as saying Fan would not be held criminally accountable as long as she paid the fines and taxes on time.

The report described unpaid taxes, fines and late fees amounting to nearly 900 million yuan or over $130m.

According to CNN Fan released a letter on social media in which she apologised to the public and government. 

"As a public figure, I should have abided by laws and regulations, and been a role model in the industry and society. I shouldn't have lost self-restraint or become lax in managing (my companies), which led to the violation of laws, in the name of economic interests," she said. 

Fan is set to star in Jessica Chastain's female-led spy thriller 355. (Read more here)