Former CIRC chairman gets 11-year bribery sentence

Xiang Junbo, former chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery on Tuesday.

Xiang also was fined of 1.5 million yuan ($211,888). He said in court he accepted the judgment and would not file an appeal. All properties gained from bribes will be handed over to the state treasury.

The Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in East China's Jiangsu province made the ruling on Tuesday. The court said Xiang abused his power in several positions from 2005 to 2017, including as deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, and Party secretary and head of the Agricultural Bank of China, as well as Party secretary and chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The court said he used his advantage in these posts to offer benefits to organizations and individuals in matters such as project contacting, loans, qualification approval, employment and promotion, and illegally received gifts and properties worth 18.62 million yuan.

The court said Xiang's act constituted the crime of bribery and noted the amount was particularly large. Due to the fact that Xiang surrendered himself to the police, pleaded guilty and willingly returned all the gifts, he could be punished lightly, according to law.

Xiang was placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for violating Party's discipline in April 2017. In May 2017, the State Council removed him from the position as chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. In September, the discipline watchdog expelled him from the Party and public post for seriously violating Party discipline.

Xiang was prosecuted for committing bribery in April 2018 and his first trial was openly heard in June 2018.