Zhao Xinxian, former president of China's Sanjiu Enterprise Group, was arrested for the Group's huge debt, the Beijing Daily reported Tuesday.

The formerly army-backed conglomerate, based in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, is burdened with debts as high as 9.8 billion yuan (1.25 billion US dollars), and Zhao's being arrested might have something to do with it, according to the report.

Zhao, 64, built Sanjiu with a 5-million-yuan loan in 1985. Now the conglomerate has 400 branches and three listed companies with total assets valued at 20 billion yuan (2.5 billion US dollars).

The companies' accounts are sheer confusion, and public prosecutors in Shenzhen are continuing investigation of Sanjiu and tracing the sources and whereabouts of the funds of some branches, the paper said.

The police started investigation of a planned golf course project under Sanjiu last month, as the capital transfer of the project is unclear. Zhao is involved as he formerly served as the legal person of the project, the paper said.

Source: Xinhua