Former officials expelled from Party, office posts for alleged graft

Two former officials — Li Xiaopeng and Sun Shutao — have been expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from public office for seriously violating Party disciplines and for allegedly being involved in graft, China's top anticorruption watchdog said.

The punishments were announced by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision online on Monday.

The commissions said they found Li, the former chairman of China Everbright Group, a State-owned financial conglomerate, betrayed his ideals and beliefs, resisted investigations into his violations, illegally accepted gifts and money, and broke Party rules by attending banquets.

Li was discovered to have illegally borrowed money from enterprises and people that the group served and managed, and he held shares in nonlisted companies, according to the commissions.

In addition, he allegedly took advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others in mortgage financing and project contracting, and then received massive amounts of money in return, the commissions said.

"Li's behaviors are a severe violation of Party rules, so we made the decision to remove him from the Party and public office, with confiscation of his illicit gains," the commissions added. "The case has also been handed over to prosecutors for further review because some of Li's alleged actions are considered crimes."

As for Sun, a former senior political adviser in Shandong province, the commissions said he was found to have betrayed his ideals and beliefs, resisted investigations into his violations and illegally accepted money, gifts, banquets and healthcare services.

While allegedly receiving large sums from business owners and using his power to procure sex, Sun, a former deputy head of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, also falsified economic data for his personal promotion.

He was suspected of accepting huge amounts of money and valuables in return after making use of his posts to seek illicit profits and job promotions for others, according to the commissions.

"Considering Sun's actions have severely violated Party rules, he should be removed from the Party and public office, and his illicit gains also need to be confiscated," the commissions said.

His case has been transferred to prosecutors for further review for suspected crimes.

The commissions also disclosed on Monday an investigation of Du Guosheng, former deputy general manager of Sinochem Group, for alleged serious violations of disciplines and laws.

The investigation is being conducted by an anti-graft team in Sinochem Holdings Corp as well as the discipline and supervision departments in Quanzhou, a city in Fujian province, the commissions said. No more details about the case have been released.

Sinochem Holdings Corp was established through the joint restructuring of Sinochem Group and China National Chemical Corp in May 2021. Sinochem Holdings is a State-owned enterprise focused on businesses such as life science, materials science, petrochemicals and industrial finance.