Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing, who played Blink in X-Men: Days of Future Past, still hasn’t been seen publicly in three months, but there’s new insight into her disappearance from the public eye. According to China’s state news outlet, Xinhua, the actress — who was set to appear with Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, and other A-list stars in the thriller 355 — is being accused of tax evasion. She has been ordered to pay approximately $130 million for allegedly misreporting how much money she earned on various projects. The process, known as using “yin-yang contracts,” is reportedly a common entertainment industry practice in China, with an actor’s having a public contract stating a salary as well as a private contract listing much higher pay. (Her team had previously denied the allegation, calling it slander.) If she pays back the money by an unspecified deadline, she will not be held criminally accountable, the report claimed. The government report did not indicate where Fan, who is the country’s highest-earning actress, has been since July 1 — the last time she was seen publicly. However, the South China Morning Post reports she was released from “residential surveillance at a designated location” — a secret government detention — about two weeks ago and returned to Beijing as the tax authorities wrapped up their investigation. While she still may be questioned, she is reportedly no longer under detention. However, Xinhua indicated that her agent, Mou Enguang, was not as lucky and is in custody for allegedly obstructing the investigation. Fan Bingbing has addressed the speculation surrounding her disappearance. (Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images) Fan also broke her silence via the social media site Weibo, on which she has more than 60 million followers. In her first post since June 2, she wrote that she “completely accepts” the decision. “As a public figure, I should have abided by laws and regulations,” she wrote, “and been a role model in the industry and society.” She went on to say that she will “try my best to overcome all difficulties and raise funds to pay back taxes and fines.” She also praised her country and its government. Story continues “I am unworthy of the trust of the society and let down the fans who love me,” she wrote. “Without the favorable polices of the Communist Party and state, without the love of the people, there would have been no Fan Bingbing.” (Read the whole statement.) The Xinhua report makes it clear that Fan’s case is a warning to other high-profile stars to get their tax bills straight. It notes: “Film and television enterprises and related employees who have self-examined and rectified themselves before Dec. 31, 2018, and paid owed taxes to the relevant authorities shall be exempted from administrative punishment and shall not be fined.” However, those who “seriously evade taxes and fail to perform their duties according to law will be held accountable and pursued for legal responsibility.” When Fan dropped out of sight, the Chinese government had just put in place salary caps for TV actors. It has long been trying to limit the incomes of movie stars to prevent a culture of “money worship” and “misleading young people to blindly chase celebrities.” Bingbing, whose career has spanned decades in China, is best known to U.S. audiences for her role in the 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past with Hugh Jackman and Peter Dinklage. She is supposed to appear in the upcoming female-focused spy thriller 355 alongside Cruz, Chastain, Marion Cotillard, and Lupita Nyong’o. The women were together at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but a release date for the film has not been announced. Amid initial chatter about Fan’s disappearance, there was talk she had been seeking asylum in the United States. Reps for Fan Bingbing have not yet responded to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:<doc-sep>BEIJING -- X-Men star Fan Bingbing's Beijing management office is dark and abandoned. Her birthday passed almost unremarked in China's hyper-adrenalized social media environment. For one of China's best known stars and a rising Hollywood actress, Fan's vanishing is stunning, coming amid vague allegations of tax fraud and possibly other infractions that could have put her at odds with Chinese authorities. Fan has starred in dozens of movies and TV series in China and is best known internationally for her role as Blink in 2014's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," a cameo in the Chinese version of "Iron Man 3," and star turns on the red carpet at Cannes as recently as May. She was booked to star with Penelope Cruz in the Hollywood film "355" and has a role in the upcoming Bruce Willis-Adrien Brody feature "Air Strike." Yet for nearly three months, Fan hasn't been seen or heard from in public in any verifiable way. One of China's wealthiest entertainers, Fan pulled down tens of millions of dollars for her roles, along with handsome sums in appearance fees and product endorsements. Some of those contracts may have landed her in hot water with the authorities. Fan's name has been mentioned in reports about a reportedly common entertainment industry practice -- an actor having a public contract stating an official salary and a private contract detailing the true, much higher payday. A talk show host, Cui Yongyuan had said in May that Fan had such an arrangement -- which allegedly helps facilitate tax evasion -- and revealed details that sparked a public outcry. Cui later apologized. At Fan's management office in Beijing's Dongcheng district, doors are locked, the lights are out and a calendar hanging alongside posters advertising Fan's film appearances is still turned to July. A worker at an office across the hall said she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen anyone enter the company premises. Fan turned 37 on Sept. 16, but only a handful of entertainment notables sent greetings online, a stark break from the past when her birthday celebrations were lavish, well-attended affairs, marked last year by a public marriage proposal from boyfriend Li Chen. An automatic birthday greeting on her once-active account on Weibo, China's main microblogging service, was apparently deleted by persons unknown. Shi Shusi, a columnist and commentator on Chinese popular culture, suggests Fan's high profile was her undoing, having made her a target for officials wishing to set an example for would-be tax cheats amid China's slowing economy. "Such a famous actress and no one knows her whereabouts. And no authorities have made any clarifications. This is the real suspense," Shi said. Chinese Hollywood movie star Fan Bingbing poses at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2018. REUTERS Fan's disappearance even brought a message of concern from Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times tabloid known for its hard-line pro-Communist Party nationalist opinions. "A timely clarification and public notification of Fan Bingbing's status would also be beneficial to setting the record straight internationally," Hu wrote on his Weibo account on Sept. 15. Back in June, Fan's production company denied Fan had ever a signed a "yinyang" contract, so named because of its dual natures. Fan, her production company and her agent could not be reached for more recent comment. Police rarely acknowledge such investigations are taking place until a conclusion has been reached. Her disappearance had come as Chinese authorities seek to rein in high salaries for actors that can eat up much of the cost of a production. In June, regulators capped star pay at 40 percent of a TV show's entire production budget and 70 percent of the total paid to all the actors in a film. Though China has become the world's second-largest film market, authorities keep tight control on local productions, exercising final say over choice of cast, director and script. If Fan had stepped on official toes, it would be a simple task to retaliate by destroying her career, with Chinese authorities wielding broad powers to detain, interrogate and accuse citizens out of the public eye. Other celebrities have run afoul of authorities over drug use, excessive pay or tax issues, said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group based in Shanghai. "Then the government really cracks down hard and pretty much destroys their careers for several years if not forever," Rein said. Companies that bet big on a-list Chinese celebrities incur a "huge political risk," he said. Known as a classical Chinese beauty with almond eyes and porcelain skin, Fan, 36, usually maintains a prominent presence on Weibo, where she has more than 62 million followers. Her account has been largely dormant for weeks, however, with a July 26 "like" about a posting on her charitable foundation being the last activity prior to the deletion of her birthday notice. Photos on social media also appear to show her visiting a pediatric cardiac ward at a Shanghai hospital for a charity event on July 1. The strongest clue to Fan's status may have been a Sept. 6 notice posted on the website of the Securities Daily, a newspaper published by the official Economic Daily. It stated that the local tax bureau had sent a notice to Fan's studio that she had been "placed under control" - a legal term for being held under investigation. The article was later deleted from the website. Fan's disappearance has already taken a toll on her lucrative sideline as brand ambassador, throwing those companies' plans into disarray. Australian vitamin brand Swisse issued a statement saying it was suspending use of her image and "continuing to monitor the situation and hope that it is resolved in the near future." British diamond giant De Beers, who signed with Fang just last year, appears to have already moved on: Another actress, Gao Yuanyuan, represented the company at a store opening last month in the ancient capital of Xi'an. Other firms she endorsed, from duty-free chain King Power to Louis Vuitton and Montblanc are also taking action. " "There's a lot more risk for celebrities in China than in the United States, because the government takes much more of a moral crackdown," said China Market Research's Rein. "So there's a greater risk for celebrities to get in trouble with the law and never be able to get a chance at redemption."<doc-sep>
The Associated Press BEIJING – Actress Fan Bingbing is apologizing after tax authorities in her native China ordered the "X-Men" star to pay taxes and fines worth $130 million in order to avoid criminal prosecution. The official Xinhua News Agency's announcement Wednesday ended months of speculation over the fate of the actress since she disappeared from public view in June amid reports she was being investigated for tax fraud. “I am unworthy of the trust of the society and let down the fans who love me,” Fan wrote in the first update to official account on the social media site Weib.com since June 2. She added that she accepts the tax authorities’ decision and would “try my best to overcome all difficulties and raise funds to pay back taxes and fines.” Xinhua cited tax authorities as saying Fan would not be held criminally accountable as long as she paid the fines and taxes on time. Their report gave no indication as to Fan's whereabouts but indicated her agent was being held by police for allegedly obstructing the investigation. Where has Fan Bingbing been? Chinese star mysteriously disappeared this summer The report described unpaid taxes, fines and late fees amounting to nearly 900 million yuan or more than $130 million. The Xinhua report said Fan evaded 7.3 million yuan in taxes by using a secret contract worth 20 million yuan that she signed for starring in the Chinese film “Unbreakable Spirit.” She instead paid taxes on a contract for only 10 million yuan, it said. The example refers to a reportedly common entertainment industry practice in which actors have a public contract stating an official salary and a private contract detailing their actual, much higher pay. Her disappearance this summer coincided with a crackdown by the authorities on high salaries for actors that can eat up much of the cost of a production. In June, regulators capped star pay at 40 percent of a TV show’s entire production budget and 70 percent of the total paid to all the actors in a film. Talk-show host Cui Yongyuan said in May that Fan had such an arrangement, which allegedly facilitates tax evasion, and revealed details that sparked a public outcry. Cui later apologized. Chinese state media said the investigation served as a warning to anyone working in the country’s arts and entertainment. A separate Xinhua report said the penalties issued to Fan would promote the “sustainable and healthy development of the film and television industry and raise social awareness on paying taxes according to the law.” Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times tabloid known for its nationalist pro-Communist Party opinions, said, “Fan’s case must be shaking the performing arts world.” People who try to evade taxes now will have to cough them up sooner or later, Hu wrote on his social media page. “The bigger the brand, the more likely you are to attract scrutiny. Just suffer this financial loss to be spared greater disaster; moreover, these are ill-gotten gains.” Celebrity tax evaders: These 13 stars, athletes ran afoul of the IRS More:The two actresses on 'Forbes' highest-paid list you may not know