An ABC branch in China.
When it comes to theft, Chen Jianxue dreams big. When he got a job with the Agricultural Bank of China, China’s largest bank, he saw it as his license to get richer despite already being a wealthy businessman. From 1995 through 2003, he used his position as assistant branch manager to skim money off the top. Turns out, Chen stole a staggering 23 million yuan ($3.68 million dollars) from his branch with the help of 34 different employees, the largest amount of theft from an ABC branch. Upon finding out the size of his theft, he took to the hills, literally. Chen Jianxue spent 8 years on the run from police, hiding in a system of caves and tunnels in the mountains of Hainan province.
The theft was impressive and lucrative for Chen and his family. With his ill-gotten gains, Chen bought a five-story building in Lingao, a shrimp farm, a plastics factory, a disco, and a fleet of 7 luxury cars. A routine check uncovered the theft, and that’s when Chen knew he’d have to take to the hills to avoid jail time.
“When I found out that my case was the biggest in the province at the time, I panicked. I crossed a big river and hid in a cave up in the mountains with leaves covering my face. I could see some policemen searching for me with guns and dogs. I was terrified,” the embezzler admitted as he hid in a network of tunnels he dug himself around his cave. “The tunnels were big enough to hold me, but small enough to be hidden with branches and leaves. I stayed in one of the tunnels for more than two months.”
Chen, who spent time in the army, relied on his military training for survival. He used leaves and sticks as camouflage, dug up sweet potatoes and herbs to eat, and his family members supplemented that with food and books and magazines to read, which he would bury to hide his tracks, rather than burn. Clever!
Chen is currently on trial in Hainan after turning himself in in exchange for a promise of leniency.
Tags: ABC, Agricultural Bank of China, Chen Jianxue, embezzlement, bank manager spends 8 years in a cave, chen jianxue spends 8 years in a cave, man hides in cave for 8 years, unusual criminals, unusual escapes, bank manager hides in a cave for 8 years, manager steals .6 million from bank branch, theft, lingao, china, hainan province, largest theft in hainan province
