Chinese actress Fan Bingbing has been fined for tax evasion, state media reported Wednesday, the first public pronouncement about the star since she mysteriously disappeared from public view in June.
According to state-run news agency Xinhua, Fan has been ordered to pay almost $130 million, after she misreported how much money she had received for certain film projects, using so-called “yin-yang contracts” to conceal from the 
authorities her true remuneration and avoid millions of dollars in taxes.
authorities her true remuneration and avoid millions of dollars in taxes.Fan and companies related to her were ordered to pay around $42 million in late taxes and fees, along with a fine of $86 million. Because she was a first-time offender, the government said criminal charges would not be filed against her if she pays all the money by an undisclosed deadline, Xinhua reported.
Fan’s disappearance from public view sparked widespread speculation she had been detained by the authorities. Xinhua said she had been under investigation by tax authorities in Jiangsu province, near Shanghai but didn’t provide any details on her current whereabouts.
In a letter posted on social media, Fan, 37, apologized profusely and repeatedly to the public and government.
“As a public figure, I should have abided by laws and regulations, and been a role model in the industry and society,” she said. “I shouldn’t have lost self-restraint or become lax in managing (my companies), which led to the violation of laws, in the name of economic interests.”
Fan admitted to signing the contracts and said she “completely accepts” the decision by tax authorities.
“Without the favorable polices of the Communist Party and state, without the love of the people, there would have been no Fan Bingbing,” she added.
Her case was clearly designed as a warning to other high profile celebrities, with the State Administration of
Taxation saying it had launched a campaign to recover all back taxes in the entertainment industry.
Those who do not meet a December 31 deadline could face criminal charges, the authority said.