Shenzhen official charged with cashing in on Universiade

A senior official in Shenzhen, Guangdong province was placed under investigation on bribery charges, the top anti-graft watchdog in the province said on Monday.

Jiang Zunyu, 57, head of the legal and political commission in the city, has become the highest-level official in China's first Special Economic Zone to face trial since the central leadership launched an anti-corruption campaign in late 2012. He was reported of "serious discipline and law violations"—a phrase used to refer to corruption.

A source said Jiang would face trial on three charges including taking bribes during the 2011 Shanzhen Universiade infrastructure construction projects, collusion with local real estate developers and securing government positions for others.

According to the audit results published on the official government website, a total of nearly 14 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) was invested in the 2011 Universiade, of which 7.5 billion yuan were spent on the construction of sports related facilities.

There were more than 80 large projects in the Universiade that had a budget of 100 million yuan.

"Jiang had the final say in small-sized projects with a total value of 2 billion yuan," a local source said. "People had to line up at his office for his approval of projects."

Authorities also discovered that Jiang's wife ran a bogus company for subcontracting construction projects. The source said the company was founded to receive commissions from companies that were granted government projects.

The source said Jiang has been in a broken marriage for many years. Jiang wanted to file for divorce but his wife refused and threatened to turn him in to anti-graft authorities on corruption charges.

"Both of them have extramarital partners," The source added.

Both Jiang's wife and daughter have been placed under investigation.

Jiang is a native of Jiangsu province and joined the armed forces at the age of 19. He worked in a construction company in Shenzhen after he completed service in the army and later worked in the national land planning bureau in the city. He climbed up the political ladder and became the head of the legal and political commission in 2013.

zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn