Fan banned from overseas travel over ‘tax evasion’
BEIJING: Fan Bingbing, 36, the highest-paid actress in China, has been banned from travelling overseas over allegations of tax evasion.
Her brother has also been barred from leaving China.
Fan, who appeared in the 2014 blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past, topped China’s 2017 celebrity earning list after earning 300 million yuan, according to Forbes China.
Reports of Fan’s alleged travel ban was first published by Chinese news site The Economic Observer.
Fan is being investigated for alleged tax evasion and involvement in “Yin-Yang Contracts.”
According to sources familiar with the matter, police are closely monitoring several people who work for Fan.
Fan’s publicists could not be contacted for clarifications.
Several luxury brands have been hit because Fan represents them in the massive market in China.
Luxury houses like Guerlain, De Beers, and Montblanc that have appointed Fan as their brand ambassador are cautiously observing the possible impact on their businesses, with all of them stopping engaging with Fan on social media.
In June, Cui Yongyuan, a controversial Chinese talk show host, had accused Fan of using a so-called “yin-yang” dual contract system to underpay taxes on her film earnings.
The system is known to be commonplace among film companies in China. It entails the celebrity signing two different contracts, with one showing the real amount of the payment while the other one shows a lower amount of payment to be reported to the Chinese tax authorities.
Fan has a massive following on social media (62.9 million on Weibo, 3.8 million on Instagram and 10.6 million on Redbook) and a widespread recognition among the masses, and her posts on Weibo receive ultra-high engagement.
Moreover, Fan has a strong commercial value for brands that hope to convert online influence into sales. Last year, she opened an official account on Redbook, China’s social commerce site, and recommended beauty products that she said she used daily via a live-streaming session. Many of her recommendations sold out immediately.
Luxury houses like Guerlain, De Beers, and Montblanc that have appointed Fan as their brand ambassador are cautiously observing the possible impact on their businesses, with all of them stopping engaging with Fan on social media.