Wu Xiaohui, former chairman and general manager of Anbang Insurance Group, the Chinese conglomerate that owns the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for fundraising fraud and embezzlement of corporate funds.

Wu Xiaohui, former chairman and general manager of Anbang Group, stands trial on March 28, 2018 for fundraising fraud and embezzlement at the No 1 Intermediate People's Court in Shanghai. [File photo: a-court.gov.cn]

The Shanghai Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People's Court announced the sentence Thursday.

Wu was also deprived of his political rights for four years, and had 10.5 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) of his property confiscated, according to the court sentence.

His illegal gains and relevant yields they generated will be retrieved, the sentence said.