The wife of Bo Xilai, the disgraced Chinese politician, has confessed to killing Neil Heywood in order to stop him from disclosing her financial dealings, according to a Japanese newspaper.
Gu Kailai, who has not been seen in public since March, is "highly suspected" of the British businessman's murder, according to the Chinese state media.
But, according to the Asahi Shimbun, she has now admitted her guilt, telling investigators that Heywood, an Old Harrovian aged 41, was poised to disclose that she was funnelling "billions of dollars" overseas. The newspaper suggested that Gu's financial affairs were already under investigation by last November, when Heywood travelled to Chongqing, the central Chinese city she ruled over with her husband.
The Asahi attributed the revelations to Communist party sources who had read "an interim investigation report circulated among senior party officials".
The report allegedly stated that Gu had killed Heywood after feeling "driven into a corner" by the investigation. It said Gu had provided a precise confession as to how she had killed Heywood, who had been a close friend of her family for several years.
According to the Asahi, Communist party officials have "decided to indict Gu following her confession". They are also allegedly investigating whether Bo, 62, was aware of his wife's actions, and have interviewed hundreds and detained "dozens of people" associated with him "including his chauffeurs, close aides and secretaries".
The investigators believe that Gu was receiving undeclared income from the early 1990s and may have transferred as much as $6 billion (£3.84 billion) overseas. Heywood has been accused of helping her to move some of that money.
"Gu has also begun admitting to allegations of bribe-taking and the cross-border remittances," according to the sources. "They said she has told investigators she received cash from a number of companies on the back of her husband's power," reported the Asahi.
Meanwhile, Cambodia said that it would not extradite Patrick Devillers, a French architect who was also in Gu's inner circle. Devillers is also suspected by the Chinese of involvement in moving Gu's money overseas, but the Cambodian government said it would investigate him in Phnom Penh.
