Huang Guangyu, a Chinese tycoon serving a 14-year fraud sentence in a Beijing prison, has put in a bid for the retired UK aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal with the aim of turning her into a floating exhibition hall and hotel.

The entrepreneur has often surprised business rivals by his ability to exert influence far beyond the confines of his prison cell. Backed by a group of loyal cronies, he has prevented the dilution of his controlling stake in Gome Electrical Appliances and orchestrated a perfectly executed management coup this spring that tightened his grip over the Hong Kong-listed retail group he founded in 1987.

Ark Royal is a light aircraft carrier that played a leading role in the Iraq invasion and was in service for 25 years. She is among a number of vessels put up for auction by the UK Ministry of Defence this year, including her sister carrier, HMS Invincible, which was sold for scrap in a ￡2m deal this spring, as reported by local media.