A home appliance dealer who once was China's richest businessman was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of insider trading and other offences.

Huang Guangyu built his Gome Electronics into China's biggest appliance retailer and once was estimated to be worth 6.3 billion US dollars.

He was detained in November 2008 and news reports said he was accused of manipulating share prices.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate, the country's top prosecutor, said on its website Huang was convicted and sentenced by the Beijing number two Intermediate Court.

Huang's rise and even faster fall reflected the uncertain status of entrepreneurs in China's fast-changing economy.

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