Former CCTV anchor arrested for fraud

Yantai Evening News
October 19, 2009

Fang Hongjin, a well-known former CCTV anchor, was arrested in Xingtai, Hebei Province, late last week on suspicion of fraud. Fang, who appears on the cover of today’s Yantai Evening News, stands accused of accepting payment from companies to place their products in TV dramas without following through on his promises.

In 1992, Fang became the founding anchor of CCTV’s Focus Interview program. He left the network in 2003 to join Dragon TV, where he stayed for three years.

According to the Hebei Youth Daily report reprinted in the Yantai Evening News, Fang accepted one million yuan in 2006 to promote the Jinmailang brand of instant noodles in a TV drama. In 2008, the company sued to recover the money after the product placements were not realized.

What’s particularly interesting about this case is how it echoes a rumor about CCTV journalist Chai Jing that circulated online in late September. According to that rumor (in ESWN’s translation):

During the interrogation of the defendant named Gao of a Chongqing spinning/weaving company, Gao said something surprising. This illegal company had once advertised on CCTV. Gao had given 1,000,000 yuan to Chai Jing as a betrothal present so that she could use her connections to get the advertisement onto CCTV. At first, the prosecutor did not believe him. Astonishingly Gao produced the contract between himself and Chai Jing.

After the prosecutor obtained the evidence, the CCTV director was immediately notified. The CCTV director was upset but he did not know what was going on. So he summoned Chai Jing, who had been gathering news outside, to return. The procuratorate took her away at 12:37pm today for interrogation.

According to the Shanghai Daily, Fang has been released on bail after repaying roughly one million yuan to the noodle manufacturer.