HKU Expert Arrested In The US Over Fraud

A director of the Emerging Technologies Institute of the University of Hong Kong, Ning Xi, has been arrested in the United States on suspicion of defrauding Michigan State University out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Xi also is accused of defrauding the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a professional organisation.

The FBI said it had counted more than US$420,000 in fraudulent reimbursements over a five-year period. Records show the money was used to pay off substantial credit card debt.

Xi, who was the former director of Michigan State's Robotics and Automation Laboratory, was arrested last week near the Michigan State campus. He appeared in federal court on Wednesday and remains in custody. His attorneys declined to comment. (AP)