Ai's sister, Gao Ge, said his family had not been officially notified of the tax accusations, which she said were another unfounded effort by the police to justify holding Ai.
Chinese police said a company controlled by the detained artist-activist Ai Weiwei had evaded a "huge amount" of taxes, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, shedding light on a case that has aroused international outcry.
Ai's sister, Gao Ge, said his family had not been officially notified of the tax accusations, which she said were another unfounded effort by the police to justify holding Ai.
His supporters say he is the victim of a crackdown on dissent.
The Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd, which has helped produce Ai's internationally renowned art and designs, "was found to have evaded "a huge amount of tax" and also to have "intentionally destroyed accounting documents," Xinhua said, citing unnamed police.
The brief report also said Ai has been "under residential surveillance", a kind of detention that usually means detainees are confined to their homes.
But Ai has been allowed to see his wife only once -- last week -- since he was seized at Beijing's international airport on April 3, igniting an outcry about China's tightening grip on dissent, which has also triggered the detention and arrest of dozens of rights activists and dissidents.
Beijing's alarm about dissent intensified after overseas Chinese websites in February spread calls for protests across China inspired by the "Jasmine Revolution" of anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Arab world.
Ai's sister Gao Ge said the family had not been told by police or officials of the accusations outlined in the Xinhua report, and she said Ai was not responsible for the Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd.
"He's not the company's legally-designated representative, nor is he the chief executive. So even if the company is accused of these crimes, Ai Weiwei should not be detained," Gao said in a telephone interview.
"There's been no notification to us or to Lu Qing," she said, referring to Ai's wife.
"Again, the authorities are saying one thing to Xinhua to tell the outside world, but they haven't observed any legal procedures to tell us."
The manager of the Fake company, Liu Zhen'gang, and the company accountant were detained about the same time as Ai, and also remain in custody, said Gao.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}