1. New law or regulation
State level: No developments.
Local level (Beijing & Shanghai): No developments.
Communist Party Rules: No developments.
2. Upcoming law or regulation
(1) It was reported on October 27, 2014 that the Draft Ninth Amendment to Criminal Law (the “Draft Amendment”) was under review by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. The Draft Amendment proposes to increase the penalties for the crime of bribery and remove the specific monetary criteria for deciding the level of punishment. According to the Draft Amendment, sentencing would be made according to both the amount of money involved and the severity of the crime. The abolition of specific monetary criteria would give the court greater flexibility in sentencing. Although the Draft Amendment would abolish the death penalty for nine specific crimes, the death sentence would still apply to those involved in bribery crimes involving especially large amounts of money and causing large losses to the interests of the country. In addition, the Draft Amendment proposes to criminalize the act of seeking illegal benefits by using the influence of a state-functionary or offering bribes to the relatives of a state-functionary.
3. Government Action
(1) On October 14, 2014, Li Daqiu (“Li”), the former Deputy Chairman of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Intermediate People’s Court of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province for taking bribes, with personal property of RMB 2 million (USD 327,070) confiscated.
Reportedly, Li was found guilty of accepting bribes from 17 entities and individuals amounting to RMB 10.95 million (USD 1.79 million) during his term in office from 2003 to 2013. In exchange, he sought illegal benefits for the bribe givers through enterprise operations and job promotions. Li was given a lighter sentence due to his confession and his return of illegal gains.
(2) On October 17, 2014, Zhang Shuguang (“Zhang”), the former Director and Deputy General Engineer of the then Transportation Bureau of Ministry of Railway, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing, with confiscation of all his personal property.
Zhang was accused of taking bribes exceeding RMB 47 million (USD 7.68 million) on 13 occasions from 2000 to 2011, among which RMB 16 million (USD 2.61 million) was solicited by Zhang in the name of funds for his attempts to get himself a fellowship in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007 and 2009, which were unsuccessful. In exchange, Zhang extended favors to 14 entities in relation to sales of trains, technique applications and project tenders. Zhang was given a lighter sentence due to his confession.
On the same day, the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing also sentenced Su Shunhu, the former Deputy Chief of the then Transportation Bureau of Ministry of Railway, to life imprisonment for taking bribes exceeding RMB 24 million (USD 3.92 million).
(3) On October 21, 2014, Li Zhujiang (“Li”), the former Deputy General Secretary of the Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress and former Party Secretary and Director of Guangdong Oceanic and Fishery Administration, was sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes by the Intermediate People’s Court of Shanwei City, Guangdong Province, with all his personal property confiscated.
Reportedly, Li was found to have taken bribes including RMB 5.07 million (USD 829,122), HKD 1.31 million (USD 168,925) and USD 10,000 from seven individuals from 2005 to 2012. In return, Li took advantage of his position and power to grant favors to these individuals in respect to issuance and extension of Ocean Use License, exploitation of sea sand, fishing harbor project, etc.
(4) On October 27, 2014, the Military Procuratorates completed the investigation into the case of Xu Caihou (“Xu”), the former Vice President of China’s Military Commission, who was found to have received bribes, both personally and through family member. The Military Procuratorates will file the case with judicial authority. Xu was expelled from the Party earlier in June, 2014.
4. Other
No developments.
5. China-related FCPA Action
No developments.
