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Arrest warrant issued for former Aston Villa owner Tony Xia

Former Villa owner Tony Xia is at the centre of another bizarre storm amid claims a warrant for his arrest has been issued in China.

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Reports in the Far East on Friday claimed wanted posters offering a reward of more than £30,000 have also been released in Beijing for the businessman, whose Recon Group has been sued for breach of contract and non-payment of debts.

Court documents claim Recon owes nearly £13million, which includes the cost of a case heard in December last year.

A judge has now ordered for Xia to be detained and the 44-year-old is currently barred from leaving the country.

Xia later hit back on Twitter, claiming the stories were false and had been instigated by a rival in an attempt to discredit him.

He wrote: "Ironical experience as I was trapped by competitor while I been away China.

"I haven’t been arrested as born (sic) out by being able to send this tweet. I am not in hiding.

"The claims are false andbeen created by a local competitor attempting to cause damage to me. Legal action to follow."

It is the latest twist in the story of Xia, who paid Randy Lerner £76.2million to buy Villa in 2016.

His tenure turned out to be a nightmare with Villa left on the brink of administration in the summer of 2018 when his gamble of getting back to the Premier League failed.

The club was only saved by the arrival of billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens.

Xia remained on Villa’s board until August this year when his remaining shareholding and final link to the club was wiped out, after he failed to pay a £30million debt to Lerner after the club won promotion.