Husband, Wife Behind Sanctioned China Oil Firm Lose $1.4 Billion

Oil volatility from the Iran war had until recently lifted the fortunes of Fan Hongwei and her husband, Chen Jianhua, who together built Hengli Group into one of China's biggest energy companies.

The couple's gains rapidly reversed after the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned their Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. for its deep ties to Iranian crude, labeling the unit "one of Iran's largest customers for crude oil and other petroleum products."

The sanctions triggered a roughly $1.4 billion wipeout in their fortunes on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after shares of Hengli Petrochemical Co. tumbled 10%. Fan is now worth $7.7 billion and Chen $7.3 billion, according to the wealth index. The drop wiped out around half of their net income gains this year.

The move targeted Hengli for allegedly facilitating billions of dollars in purchases from Tehran and injects fresh tension into an expected summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month. China has been able to cushion the impact of a historic energy crunch over the past two months in part due to Iranian oil.

"For many private industrial families, situations like this highlight how their business, capital, and geopolitical exposure are often deeply intertwined," said Harry Yu, senior partner for trust and family office advisory at Fung Yu Trust Services (Hong Kong) Ltd. "In that sense, families today are navigating a much more delicate balance: maintaining commercial relationships and scale, while managing increasing geopolitical and compliance risks."

Hengli Petrochemical denied any trade ties with Iran in an exchange filing on Monday.

Fan, 59, is the public face of the Hengli empire, which is one of China's largest private oil refiners. She serves as chair of Hengli Petrochemical while her husband Chen is chair of parent firm Hengli Group. Their daughter, Chen Yiting, has held roles including heading Hengli Petrochemical's international business in Singapore. Their son, Chen Hanlun, is president of their Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)