China nabs state firm boss over corruption

Expensive paintings and calligraphy, two apartments in Beijing, three mistresses, a rhino horn and a huge cache of Chinese and foreign currencies exposed the extravagant lifestyle of a former state-owned firm boss in the northern province of Hebei.

Li Lingcheng, 45, was the former board chairman of Hebei Financial Investment Group, the province's largest guarantee company that went bankrupt last year.

According to the provincial State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which led the investigation, Li allegedly accepted bribes worth 200 million yuan (29.6 million U.S. dollars) between 2009 and 2014. In some cases, Li openly asked for bribes.

Among his ill-gotten gains was 173 million yuan; 800,000 U.S. dollars; 563,000 euros; and scrolls of Chinese paintings and calligraphy valued at 55.88 million yuan. The commission said that Li indulged himself in a squandering and corrupt lifestyle.

Aside from being removed from his public post, Li has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC). The case is now in the hands of the judiciary authorities.

Li will stand trial on charges of graft, dereliction of duty and causing "great loss" of state assets.

China launched its current countercorruption drive in late 2012 to address wanton official misconduct. Some of the high-ranking officials in the Party and the government are now wallowing in prison cells.

Li is not the first mid-ranking official to have amassed possessions and cash that far exceed what he should be able to afford on his income. Last week, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, another former state firm manager was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes worth 306.8 million yuan over the course of six years. Endi