The case involving a Chinese banker who fled China after allegedly embezzling one billion yuan (US$128 million) from client accounts has taken a new twist in Canada.

A hearing into the immigration qualification of Gao Shan's family will be held on March 6, a judge from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada announced on Thursday.

Judge Marc Tessler also said Gao, who has been in detention since he was arrested at a Vancouver home last weekend, will be released under stringent conditions. Bail was set at US$258,524, he must surrender his Chinese passport, and not change his address.

Gao must also visit the IRB office building every Tuesday and report to officials, China News Service quoted Tessler as saying.

Gao, 42, accepted the ruling through an interpreter. His immigration consultant, Alexander Ning, also attended Thursday's hearing.

According to documents from the immigration department, Gao registered as a permanent resident of Canada on October 1, 2004, and later returned to China, Tessler said.

On February 16, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Gao over allegations that he provided false documents in immigration applications.

China's Ministry of Public Security has been asking Canada to extradite Gao, a former director of the Songhejie branch of Bank of China in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province.

According to Chinese media reports, accountants of Northeast Expressway, a Shanghai-listed A-share company, said on January 4, 2005, that more than 293 million yuan had disappeared from the company's account at the Bank of China branch.

Several other customers also reported deposits of as much as 700 million yuan missing from their BOC accounts.

Gao and another suspect, Li Dongzhe, allegedly fled to Canada with large sums of money.

According to Tessler, police haven't found the embezzled funds, and Gao's name is not registered with any bank account.

Testimony from police said Gao's family bought three properties in Vancouver, and they live in a luxury apartment in northern Vancouver.

Li Xue, Gao's wife, works at a children's center.

Li moved to Canada in 2002.

She and her daughter, 17, were detained over immigration issues on February 16, but were released on Monday.

Canadian media reports said the March 6 hearing will be crucial in the bid to extradite Gao to China, a process that is generally straightforward.