According to local media, Fu Zhenghua, China’s former justice minister and top public security officer, was on Thursday given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve for corruption and abuse of power.
According to media sources, the order was issued by the Intermediate People’s court in Changchun, the capital of the province of Jilin. Fu had previously held the positions of vice-minister of public security, minister of justice, and director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Prosecutors claim, as stated by local media outlet, that Fu illegally collected gifts and payments totaling 117 million yuan (USD 7.3 million) either personally or through his family members in exchange for others’ advantages in business transactions, official positions, and legal issues.
In the past, one of China’s top financial officials was detained on charges of accepting bribes and misusing his position, according to a statement released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has detained Cai Esheng, a former senior government employee at China’s Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), on suspicion of corruption. He was also removed from the Communist Party of China earlier in January, according to the daily publication.
After eight years of retirement, Cai, who served as the vice-chairman of the CBRC from 2005 to 2013, is again facing corruption charges.
Notably, China is harshly prosecuting those responsible for such crimes, and this is an important development because this time, a high-ranking official’s name is associated with the arrest. The nation is committed to eradicating financial sector corruption.
Senior finance government officials have also recently been investigated and dismissed from the party.
The daily newspaper reports that the list also includes Lin Chuanwei, a former deputy head of the People’s Bank of China branch in Fujian, and Xu Weihua, a former deputy head of the China Development Bank branch in Hainan.
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