Tigers down | Former Chinese state oil boss convicted of corruption

Jiang Jiemin (left) and Li Chuncheng

Two senior Chinese officials — one who earlier led the country’s biggest petroleum company and the other a deputy party chief in populous Sichuan province— were convicted of corruption yesterday and sentenced to 16 and 13 years in prison, respectively, Chinese authorities said.
Hanjiang Intermediate People’s Court in central China said Jiang Jiemin, former chairman of the state-run China National Petroleum Corp., accepted 14 million yuan (USD2.3 million) in bribes and failed to explain the source of another 15 million yuan. Jiang also violated regulations by providing assistance to others, resulting in losses to the state, the court said. It sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
Also yesterday, Xianning Intermediate People’s Court, also in central China, said it convicted Li Chuncheng, a former deputy party chief for the southwestern province of Sichuan, of corruption and sentenced him to 13 years in jail. The court said Li received nearly 40 million yuan ($6.45 million) in bribes.
Both Jiang and Li are considered associates of Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the all-powerful standing committee of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. Zhou has been convicted of corruption and is serving a life sentence in jail.
Before his retirement in 2012, Zhou oversaw China’s police and security apparatus and was a formidable politician. He built a power bases not only in the police but also in Sichuan province and in the oil industry, where he worked for many years.
Both the Sichuan government and the state oil company were targets of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that has netted top officials since Chinese President Xi Jinping came into power in late 2012.
Li was placed under investigation in late 2012. He was tried in April on charges of taking bribes and abusing power.
At first Jiang appeared to be unscathed because he was appointed to the Cabinet body that oversees China’s biggest state-owned firms in 2013. But he was fired from the post later that year after he came under investigation.
Jiang was tried in April, also on charges of taking bribes and abusing power. AP