What’s new: Sun Shutao, a former vice chairman of the top political advisory body in East China’s Shandong province, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting nearly $18 million in bribes, authorities announced.
Sun took advantage of positions he held from 2001 to 2023, including as mayor of two key cities in Shandong and as a senior provincial political advisor, to help others get project contracts and promotions. In exchange, he accepted bribes worth over 129 million yuan ($17.8 million), according to a Wednesday statement from Datong Intermediate People’s Court in Shanxi province.
The court added that Sun had not actually obtained a large portion of the bribes and that he voluntarily returned some of his illicit gains, which warranted leniency.
An earlier statement from the court said 73.38 million yuan of the bribes were not obtained, published when Sun stood trial on April 12.
The background: Sun was previously accused of having fabricated economic data to boost his personal advancement prospects, in an announcement from the country’s top graft busters in October 2023. This charge was not mentioned in the Wednesday court statement.
Sun, 59, worked for over two decades in his home province of Shandong. He was named deputy governor in 2018, before serving as mayor of the provincial capital Jinan for almost four years. His previous posts included mayor of the coastal city of Weihai and deputy mayor of Heze.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
