What’s new: Bai Tinghui, former chief of Shanghai’s state-owned asset supervisor, has pleaded guilty to accepting over $12 million in bribes over nearly two decades, according to a local court.
Bai, 57, is accused of taking advantage of the roles he served in between 2004 and 2023 including director of the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) as well as senior positions held in the municipality’s metro and water systems.
Prosecutors alleged Bai exploited his positions to help others secure project contracts, settle payments and manage company operations, receiving money and assets totaling 88.91 million yuan ($12.4 million) in return, Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court said in a Thursday statement.
The court said Bai’s sentence will be announced at a later date.
The background: Bai came under investigation nearly a year ago while director and Communist Party chief of the Shanghai SASAC, a post he had served in since February 2019.
Bai, native to Central China’s Henan province, was targeted by investigators for wrongdoing during his tenure at Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co. Ltd., the state-owned operator of the financial hub’s subway system, people with knowledge of the case previously told Caixin.
Bai is also the sixth delegate to the Communist Party’s current National Congress to be tried publicly since the legislature was elected in October 2022. The others include Dong Yunhu, former chief of Shanghai’s top legislature, and Cui Maohu, former head of China’s religious affairs regulator who was sentenced in July to 11 years in prison for bribery.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
