Key figure in China luxury villa corruption scandal goes on trial, accused of taking tens of millions of US dollars in bribes
- Former Shaanxi boss accused of taking pribes from contractors and people who sought job promotions
- Zhao Zhengyong allegedly abused his position to benefit contractors
The former Communist Party boss of a scandal-ridden province in China’s northwest faced court on Monday, accused of taking the equivalent of tens of millions of US dollars in bribes.
Zhao Zhengyong, the former party chief of Shaanxi province, went on trial in the northern municipality of Tianjin, for allegedly “taking advantage of his position to accept bribes from contractors and people who sought job promotions, personnel assignment and [favours] in the management of company business”, according to a court notice.
In all, Zhao and his wife, who was not identified, took 426 million yuan (US$60 million) in bribes and had agreed to take another 291 million yuan, the notice said.
State news agency Xinhua reported that a verdict would be handed down at a later date.
To underline the point, Xi visited the Qinling Mountains, ground zero of the scandal.
