This Week in Graft

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[thigraft]

Two executives at state-owned developer under investigation

The South China Morning Post reported this Wednesday that two senior executives from state-owned property developer Financial Street Holdings (金融街控股股份有限公司) were brought under Party discipline investigation for alleged connections to disgraced Beijing Communist Party official, Lü Xiwen (吕锡文). 

Wang Gongwei (王功伟), CEO (soon to be ex?) and founder of Financial Street Holdings currently occupies its Party Secretary position, as well. Along with being a titan of industry (and corruption), Wang is also Beijing’s municipal representative to the National People's Congress. Further emphasizing why you shouldn’t mix business and politics, Wang non-ironically holds the two titles of national and Beijing municipality “model worker.” 

Ju Jin (鞠瑾), board member and Deputy Party Secretary of Financial Street Holdings, formerly taught economics at Beijing Jiaotong University along with served as a board member of Great Wall Life Insurance from 2010. 

Currently we at This Week in Graft are working on a “node” graph (sort of like a mind map) to highlight relationships between those currently under investigation, already taken down, and those who may be next. 

SCMP article: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1879671/chinas-communist-party-investigates-two-top-executives

“The Paper” article: https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1397181

Photo courtesy of Hexun News. 

[thigraft]

Xinjiang NPC Working Committee Director under corruption investigation

National People’s Congress Working Committee Director and Deputy Party Secretary, Wutikuer Alim (吾提库尔·阿里木) of Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang is currently under investigation by the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection for “several disciplinary violations” as of November 12, 2015. 

Alim, an ethnic Uyghur, previously occupied various positions within Hotan Prefecture including mayor and Standing Committee member of Hotan County.

If readers can find a better translation for Alim’s given name, please write in. 

Original notification from CCDI:  http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/jlsc/201511/t20151112_64980.html

Photo courtesy of Baidu

[thigraft]

Revisiting the Zhou Yongkang Saga: $14.5 billion of family assets seized

Along with covering current events in the world of corruption in Chinese officialdom, This Week in Graft is beginning its series “Top 10 Corruption Scandals” to show just how lucrative the sweet, supple teat of public funds truly is! 

As I’m sure most of you remember, Zhou Yongkang, disgraced member of the Politburo Standing Committee and ex-security chief, came under Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan’s anticorruption/power play crosshairs in 2014 on charges of “corruption and abuse of power.” 

As Reuters reported in 2014, Chinese authorities seized $14.5 billion (90 billion yuan) of illegally gained assets from family members of Zhou Yongkang. Zhou’s family allegedly has accrued over 300 houses and villas and 1 billion yuan’s worth of antiques and other art. To offer some perspective, $14.5 billion is equivalent to 11.5 million Louis Vuitton bags or 16.1 million iPhone 6s. 

Although this “tiger” will likely be spending the rest of his days in house arrest or imprisonment, rest assured, he will assuredly receive the Guinness World Record for greatest total assets accrued through graft. Come on, that’s a world record, not something to sneeze at. 

Have some sympathy for the guy, he’s just your average Zhou trying to make it in the Communist Party world of hookers, Maotai, and houses in Los Angeles. 

Original Reuters story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-china-corruption-zhou-idUSBREA2T02S20140330

[thigraft]

Deputy Head of China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yao Gang, under Investigation for Corruption

Yao Gang, Deputy Head of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), is under investigation by the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI) for “severe disciplinary violations.” Prior to his post at the CSRC, Yao served as the General Manager, Deputy Party Secretary, and Vice Chairman of Guotai Junan Securities. 

Original announcement from CCDI: http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xwtt/201511/t20151113_65055.html

Thanks, Chris Buckley!