By Ben Blanchard
SHANGHAI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A disgraced entrepreneur who fled China after being accused of economic crimes is suing the government of Liaoning province to recover $690 million he says was illegally seized, his U.S.-based lawyer said on Wednesday.
Yang Rong, the former chairman of vehicle maker Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd and ranked by Forbes as China's third richest man in 2001, fled to the United States after authorities sought his arrest.
He has now filed a lawsuit from the U.S capital to try to recoup investments in Brilliance and other seized assets, said lawyer Jim Slattery of Washington's Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
A Liaoning government official said they had seen reports of the suit but would not comment further. Brilliance similarly declined comment, saying Yang had no more to do with the company.
"That's a combination of $300 million tied up and related to China Brilliance, and $390 million more related to equity interest Yang Rong held in other companies in Liaoning province that...were seized," Slattery told Reuters by phone.
Slattery said he remained in almost daily communication with Yang, but declined to reveal where the ex-tycoon was living.
"His spirits are high. We all know this is ground-breaking litigation," he said from Kansas City, where he was on holiday.
A court summons should be sent out later in the week, Slattery, a former U.S Congressman, added.
Yang helped transform Brilliance from a stagnant state-owned auto factory into the top maker of mini-vans in the country. But he was removed from the firm's board late last year due to what the firm called differences with shareholders.
His arrest order was approved in October by Liaoning's government. Yang's controlling 39.45 percent stake was bought by a Liaoning-controlled company in December for a fraction of the value of Brilliance's shares, listed in New York and Hong Kong.
Yang's falling-out with the Chinese authorities closely followed the arrest of orchid magnate Yang Bin, who headed one-time investor darling Euro-Asia Agricultural (Holdings) , now being liquidated. The two Yangs are not related.
Yang Bin, who had been tapped by North Korea to head a new economic zone, was jailed for 18 years last month for commercial crimes in a case underscoring the precarious position of China's entrepreneurial elite.
Yang Rong was believed in 2001 to have personal wealth of $840 million, according to Forbes. Both Yangs were removed from Forbes's rich list in 2002.