Top Chinese live-streamer fined $210m for tax evasion

A top Chinese live-streamer has been handed a 1.34bn yuan ($210m; £160m) fine for tax evasion.

Huang Wei, known as Viya, is an internet celebrity with tens of millions of followers. She has used her platform to sell a variety of products.

Authorities in Hangzhou accuse her of hiding her personal income as well as other financial offences between 2019 and 2020.

In a post on her Weibo account, she said she was "deeply sorry".

"I thoroughly accept the punishment made by the tax authorities," the post said.

The 36-year-old has become a major internet celebrity in China, fuelled by the meteoric growth of online shopping.

She's known as the country's "live-streaming queen" and has sold everything from noodles to a commercial rocket launch on the online shopping Taobao platform.

Viya had been due to host a cosmetics sales event on Monday evening before her streaming account went offline, according to the Reuters news agency.

Her huge platform meant she was named on Time magazine's list of 100 influential figures in 2021.