What’s new: Zhang Jinghua, former deputy party chief of East China’s Jiangsu province, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting almost 50 million yuan ($7 million) in bribes, according to Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court.
Zhang took advantage of his official positions from 2008 to 2021 to help others get project contracts, job promotions and other things. In return, he accepted a total of 49.8 million yuan, although 16.76 million yuan was not obtained, the court said in a statement Tuesday.
The 61-year-old has also been fined 4 million yuan and his illegally obtained assets have been confiscated, according to the statement.
The background: The country’s top graft busters began investigating Zhang for corruption almost two years ago and he was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from public office in May 2022.
According to a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the CPC’s top corruption watchdog, Zhang also fabricated economic data and participated in superstitious activities, among other wrongdoing.
Zhang spent the majority of his career in his native Jiangsu province. His official roles since 2008 included vice governor of Jiangsu and party secretary of the provincial capital Nanjing, before he became the deputy secretary of Jiangsu’s party committee in 2021.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
