China strengthens punishment of corrupt practices

The procuratorial organs and courts have intensified the punishment of corrupt practices while implementing joint investigations into both bribery takers and givers, as stated in the annual work reports of China's top procuratorate and the top court.

The reports were delivered by Ying Yong, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court, on Friday to the ongoing second session of the 14th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, for deliberation.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate work report, national procuratorates last year accepted 20,000 cases of duty-related crimes transferred by supervisory commissions at all levels, representing a 9.3 percent year-on-year increase. Among them, 18,000 people have been prosecuted, including 25 former provincial and ministerial-level officials.

Procuratorates have strengthened coordination and constraints with supervisory commissions, initiating supplementary investigations in 3,020 cases and returning 808 cases to supervisory commissions for further investigation.

Actively participating in the governance of industry-specific and systematic corruption, procuratorates separately launched prosecutions against 348 and 580 individuals for duty-related crimes in the financial and medical fields, respectively, said the procuratorate report.

The procuratorate also provided guidance to procuratorial organs in Hubei province in handling a series of corruption cases in the soccer sector and have already prosecuted 15 individuals, including Chen Xuyuan, the former chairman of the Chinese Football Association.

Moreover, procuratorates have implemented investigations into both bribery takers and givers, resulting in the prosecution of 2,593 people for offering bribery, an 18.9 percent year-on-year increase.

To collaborate with the work of pursuing fugitives and retrieving their illicit gains, procuratorates also submitted applications to the court for the confiscation of illegal proceeds from 14 fugitive or deceased suspects of corruption and bribery crimes.

In response to issues such as embezzlement, fund misappropriation, and bribery affecting the interests of private enterprises, the Supreme People's Procuratorate introduced 12 procuratorial measures to promote the establishment of sound internal anti-corruption mechanisms within private enterprises and protect corporate property rights and the rights of entrepreneurs.

In terms of the trial of corruption, last year, the people's courts nationwide concluded 24,000 cases involving duty-related crimes such as corruption and bribery, involving 27,000 individuals, representing a 19.9 percent year-on-year increase.

Among them, 30 were former senior officials under the management of the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and all of their illicit proceeds were confiscated.

Severe punishment was meted out for crimes involving repeated, large-scale, and multiple instances of bribery, it said.

They also concluded 371 cases involving extradited individuals and 38 cases adopting special procedures for confiscating illicit proceeds from suspects or defendants who fled or died, resulting in the recovery of 450 million yuan in illegal gains and properties worth hundreds of millions of yuan.

Furthermore, the courts also strongly supported the anti-corruption efforts of private enterprises and the purging of internal corruptions, concluding 6,779 cases involving 8,124 bribery and embezzlement by non-state employees, representing a 26.6 percent year-on-year increase.