French villa key exhibit in Bo trial

Former party secretary Bo Xilai is accused of embezzling $1 million and accepting $4 million in bribes. Photo / AP

Sitting in the hills above Cannes, a yellow six-bedroom mansion draped in pink bougainvillea could be a key piece of evidence in the corruption trial of Bo Xilai, the fallen party leader.

Just a few minutes drive up the winding roads from the Boulevard de la Croisette, the Villa Fontaine Saint Georges is thought to have been bought by a Chinese billionaire more than a decade ago and given to Bo's family.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both cited unnamed sources who claimed that the $4.2 million villa would be mentioned at Bo's trial as evidence that he had succumbed to corruption.

The Chinese authorities have almost finished their preparations for the trial, due to be held at the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan on a date yet to be made public.

Its outcome is expected to have been agreed well in advance. Members of Bo's family are said to be "aware" that the house in Nice may be used against them.

The house was thought to have been bought by Xu Ming, a billionaire in Dalian who was close to Bo and who disappeared at about the same time last year as the politician fell from grace.

A source told CNN that while Xu bought the house, the Bo family "has no connection with its purchase and ownership".

French corporate documents say Neil Heywood, the British businessman whose murder in Chongqing in 2011 precipitated Bo's downfall, was one of three people who had managed the villa.

The house, which has a lavish garden overlooking the Mediterranean and its own swimming pool, was rented to holidaymakers.

Heywood was replaced as manager of the villa in May 2011 by a British woman of Chinese origin called Feng Jiang Dolby, a former presenter on China's state-controlled television.

As the preparations for Bo's trial continue, he is being quietly scrubbed from history. His photo has been removed from the line-up of former ministers at the Commerce Ministry in Beijing, according to one source who recently visited the building.

In Dalian, where Bo served from 1985 to 2000, rising to become the city's party secretary, one museum has assiduously removed the exhibits that once praised his leadership.

One unnamed source close to Bo's family described the charges against him as "ridiculous" in an interview with CNN.

He is expected to be accused of taking 20 million yuan ($4 million) in bribes through his wife, embezzling a further 5 million yuan and abusing his power.

"The charges go way back when Bo was in Dalian. That's more than 20 years ago. So they cannot find anything more recent?" the family friend said.

Meanwhile, a Chinese journalist supporting Bo has been taken into detention in Beijing, according to his friends.

Song Yangbiao was arrested for inciting people to support Bo, said Chen Chuang, a writer.