Fan Bingbing has been ordered to pay the equivalent of more than $100 million in taxes and fines, Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua reported Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
Citing Chinese taxation authorities, Xinhua said Tuesday that Fan has been ordered to pay around 420 million yuan, equivalent to approximately $70 million U.S. dollars, on top of back taxes totaling $37 million. She may also be hit with further fines. No further information was provided about the actress’ legal situation.
Soon after the story was announced, Fan posted an apology on Chinese social media platform Weibo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I failed my country which nurtured me; I failed the society which trusted me; I failed the fans who liked me,” she said in her first public statement in months.
“I totally accepted all of them, and will raise funds to pay my taxes and penalties regardless of any obstacles,” she said about the penalties imposed on her.
CAA, Fan’s American representatives, did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
One of the most popular actresses in China, Fan hasn’t been seen in public or heard from since an early June visit to a children’s hospital in Tibet. Her absence prompted speculation that the Chinese government had quietly arrested her.
CNN reported last month that on Sept. 6, the state-run news outlet Securities Daily said in a since-deleted article that Fan had been brought “under control… to receive legal judgment.” Back in May, state tabloid Global Times said that she had a “yin-yang contract,” a term used to refer to when two contracts are signed with different salary amounts, with the smaller amount being reported on tax returns. In this case, Fan was said to have a public film contract for $1.5 million and a smaller one for $7.5 million. She denied it.
Over the past five years, Fan has risen to become one of the most successful stars in China’s rising film industry, earning major awards throughout Asia and lucrative luxury brand ad deals. She’s also taken a step into the world of Hollywood blockbusters with a minor role in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Iron Man 3,” and the Chinese dub of “Despicable Me 3.”