Ex-railways minister found guilty

According to the trial, due to Liu's abuse of power, Ding and other businesspeople raked in more than 3 billion yuan worth of profits. Judicial authorities seized and froze large amounts of cash, stocks, properties and works of art, among other assets owned by Ding and other businesspeople, Bai said. The seized and frozen assets included 374 properties and cash. However, they were not criminal gains of Liu, but illegal profits that Ding and other businesspeople obtained through Liu's abuse of power, which highlighted the gravity of Liu's crime, Bai added.

Based on judicial authorities' assessment of the total value of these assets, the court found the majority of economic losses inflicted by Liu's abuse of power had been recovered.

However, considering Liu's especially serious crimes of abuse of power and showing favoritism, the court did not mitigate his punishment, instead sentencing him to 10 years in jail, a maximum sentence for the crime of abuse of power, Bai said.

Previous media reports have revealed that 49 million yuan out of the total 64.6 million was spent by Ding to benefit Liu. Whether this part of the money should be regarded as bribes to Liu has been a point of contention. Bai confirmed that this was a disputed issue between the prosecution and the defense during the trial.

According to Bai, Liu told Ding to "grease the wheels" and handle other relevant affairs for him. Ding spent 49 million yuan to comply with Liu's orders.

"It is unlike an ordinary bribe-taking act in which one receives bribes directly, as Liu has not directly possessed this money, and Liu's lawyers also argued that this act does not constitute a bribe-taking crime," Bai said. However, evidence during the trial revealed that Liu had taken advantage of his positions to help Ding and her relatives obtain huge economic benefits.

Liu also suggested that Ding buy off officials and people to free him of any implication in the case of He Hongda, a former senior official of the Ministry of Railways investigated for corruption, as well as to create favorable conditions for him to secure a better position. Liu confessed that he was fully aware beforehand that such manipulation may cost a lot of money, and Ding informed him afterwards that she spent tens of millions of yuan to carry out his instructions, the judge said.

"Although Liu did not directly take this money, the money was used by Ding at the behest of Liu and for the benefit of Liu," Bai said.

Ding also testified that she spent large amounts for Liu in return for his help for her to reap huge profits, according to the judge.