What’s new: Sheng Guangzu, a former top official overseeing China’s vast railway system, pleaded guilty to taking more than 60 million yuan ($8.4 million) in bribes.
Sheng, 74, stood trial Thursday in Baoji, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, on bribery charges.
Prosecutors accused Sheng of taking 56.7 million yuan of bribes between 2004 and 2022, using his power in the railway system to seek business and promotion benefits for others. Separately, Sheng was charged with taking more than 7 million yuan of bribes through others between 2015 and 2022, according to prosecutors.
The court said sentencing will be at a later date.
Background: Sheng was the former Communist Party chief and general manager of China Railway Corp., the state railway operator. He was previously the country’s minister of railways. He was the highest-ranking official of China’s railway system investigated since the downfall of Liu Zhijun, Sheng’s predecessor at the now defunct Ministry of Railways.
Sheng spent more than 30 years in China’s railway system and 10 more years in the country’s General Administration of Customs.
The investigation of Sheng was disclosed in March 2022, six years after his retirement. The news came as a surprise, separate sources from the railway system told Caixin.
In September that year, Sheng was expelled from the Communist Party. According to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s top graft buster, the investigation found that Sheng abused his power in public office by accepting a large amount of money and valuables in exchange for personal benefits. The gifts included banquet invitations and trips arranged by others. In return, Sheng used his position to help create favorable conditions in business operations, project contracts and the process of selecting and appointing cadres.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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