Xi Jinping, President of China (Photo: Yonhap News)

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A close aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of accepting bribes worth approximately CNY 137 million (about KRW 28.6 billion), Chinese state media reported on February 2.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court in Fujian Province sentenced Tang Yijun, former Minister of Justice, to life in prison for bribery. The court also ordered the permanent deprivation of Tang’s political rights and the confiscation of all personal assets, with illicit proceeds and related interest to be turned over to the state.

Tang served as China’s justice minister from 2020 for three years and is considered a political ally of President Xi. He previously worked as Ningbo’s Communist Party chief during the period when Xi held senior партий positions in Zhejiang Province between 2002 and 2007.

Investigators found that between 2006 and 2022, while holding senior posts in Zhejiang Province, Liaoning Province, and the Ministry of Justice, Tang abused his authority to provide assistance in business operations and case handling in exchange for bribes totaling CNY 137 million.

Tang was placed under investigation by the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission in April 2024.

 

 

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