1. New laws or regulations
State level: No developments.
Local level (Beijing & Shanghai): No developments.
Communist Party Rules: No developments.
2. Upcoming laws or regulations
No developments.
3. Government Action
(1) It was reported on June 5, 2015 that Li Jiezhi (“Li”), the former Deputy General Manager of Anhui Highway Holding Group Co., Ltd. was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting bribes and for misappropriation of public funds by the People’s Court of Huaiyuan County, Anhui Province.
Reportedly, Li misappropriated public funds up to RMB 30 million (USD 4.83 million) together with others for his own business operation, and illegally accepted cash, shopping cards, and precious metal valued at RMB 3 million (USD 483,525).
(2) On June 11, 2015, Zhou Yongkang (“Zhou”), a former member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was sentenced to life in prison by No.1 Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin for taking bribes, abusing power, and intentional disclosure of state secrets following a first trial. Zhou was also deprived of his political rights for life, and all of his personal properties were confiscated.
According to the court, Zhou was proved to have taken advantage of his position and to have sought illegal benefits for several high level officers, including Jiang Jiemin (“Jiang”), the former Chief of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. In return, Zhou, along with his wife and son, accepted cash and properties from bribe-givers in amounts exceeding RMB 129.7 million (USD 20.9 million).
The court further ruled that Zhou abused his office by requiring Jiang and Li Chuncheng, the former Deputy Secretary-General of CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee to provide assistance to certain individuals (including his sons) for their business activities, who accordingly gained illegal benefits up to RMB 2.136 billion (USD 344.2 million), causing large economic losses to the state and to public properties estimated to be more than RMB 1.486 billion (USD 23.93 million).
(3) On June 12, 2015, Li Nianyou (“Li”), the former Deputy Director of Hainan Provincial Department of Ocean and Fisheries, was sentenced to imprisonment for 15 years and wsa deprived of his political rights for 5 years after a first trial by the Intermediate People’s Court of Hainan Province.
Allegedly, during the period from 1995 to 2013, while Li held positions in the Transportation Bureau and Department of Ocean and Fisheries of Hainan Province, he accepted bribes on multiple occasions aggregating RMB 4.53 million (USD 730,128) and took advantage of his positions to seek benefits for 16 individuals in the appropriation of funds for project, job transfers, and administrative approval related matters.
(4) On June 25, 2015, Lin Qiaoyin (“Lin”), the former Party Member and Vice President of Municipal Political Consultative Conference of Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Intermediate People’s Court of Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province for taking bribes.
According to the court, from September, 2000 to October, 2010, Lin took advantages of his position as the Party Secretary of Xiajiang County, Jiangxi Province and sought illegal benefits for bribe-givers engaged in land transfer, project contracting and project operations, real estate appraisal, and capital appropriation. In exchange, Lin illegally accepted cash amounting to RMB 7.525 million (USD 1.21 million). Lin was given a lighter sentence due to his confession and his return of illegal gains.
(5) It was reported on June 25, 2015 that the Intermediate People’s Court of Suzhou City, Anhui Province affirmed the life imprisonment sentence of Chen Lianggang (“Chen”), the former Director of Land and Resources Bureau of Anhui Province. In addition, Chen was deprived of his political rights for life, and all of his personal properties and ill-gotten gains were confiscated.
Chen was found guilty of taking advantages of his position to seek illegal benefits for several real estate developers and individuals during his term of office from 2004 to 2013. In exchange, Chen illegally accepted cash totaling RMB 2.96 million (USD 477,088), USD 20,000, shopping cards valued at RMB 75,000 (USD 12,088), shares of an investment company valued at RMB 800,000 (USD 128,942), and dividends from a real estate development company up to RMB 2.96 million (USD 477,088).
4. Other
(1) It was reported on June 29, 2015 that the Reporting Center of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate received on average 15,000 letters per week over the past year. The Reporting Center was established to engage the public to combat corruption and bribery through a reporting system. Reports can be made on a no-name basis, and such “whistleblowers” may be rewarded if the case he/she reports is placed on file for investigation and a valid judgement in the case is eventually made by the court. All personal information of the “whistleblowers” is to be kept confidential.
5. China-related FCPA Action
No developments.
