Sunday Times 2
Corrupt comrades become gold diggers at China’s state-owned companies
Communist Party graft investigator, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said Ren is suspected of “serious law and discipline violations”. Ren has been a standing committee member of the Communist Party of Dongfeng Motor Company since August 2003.
The 2013 annual report shows that in 2012, Ren was highest earning supervisor ahead of five others. His total packet including salary, bonus, and pension was worth 2.1 million yuan. This was bigger than that of the highest paid executive director at 813,000 yuan.
In 2013, the Supervisory Committee oversaw “financial matters and the legality and compliance of rules and regulations by the directors and senior management”, the annual report notes.
There have been major frauds involving Chinese companies listed in the US as well.
A couple of months ago, the US Securities and Exchange Commission secured a conviction against an AutoChina International executive and others for rigging share trades to inflate trading volumes and gain favourable terms for a bank loan. Senior executive and director Hui Kai Yan and 10 others were convicted of market manipulation. The SEC charged that from October 2010, they “deposited more than US$60 million into US-based brokerage accounts and engaged in hundreds of fraudulent trades over the next three months through these accounts and accounts with a Hong Kong-based broker-dealer”. AutoChina, a commercial vehicle leasing company, was fined US$4.35 million, earlier.
China’s corruption investigator also said in December that China Shenhua Energy Company vice president, Hua Zeqiao, 62, is suspected of “serious violations” of the law. He had retired in March, a company announcement reveals. The coal mining company says Hua was vice president since November 2004.
Yet another executive Wu Ruosi, who had been a non-executive director for just three months resigned in November citing “personal reason”. It has now been revealed by China Shenhua Energy that he is also facing a judicial investigation.
Also last month, Sun Zhaoxue, former general manager of aluminium producer Chinalco, was expelled from the Communist Party, following a corruption investigation, the state news agency Xinhua reported. He took “a huge amount in bribes”, and also committed adultery, the anti-graft body said. In September, the Aluminum Corporation of China announced that Sun, 51, non-executive director, was suspected of serious violations of laws and disciplines, and was under investigation by authorities.
He was elected as non-executive director at the 2013 annual general meeting in June,2014. Last month, yet another executive at state-run Baiyun Industrial and Agricultural Corporation was sentenced to death by a court in southern Guangzhou. Zhang Xinhua, was accused of multi-million dollar bribery and embezzlement. He is appealing.
The same moth, Wang Zongnan, former chairman of Bright Food (Group) Co., went on trial in Shanghai accused of embezzlement and bribery, Xinhua reported. He was accused of embezzling 190 million yuan between 2000 and 2006 during his tenure as chairman of Shanghai Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Company.
While several corrupt state-owned company executives have been red carded, many more would have heard the most recent warning from Wang Qishan, who heads the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the anti-graft agency. Xinhua reports last month that he expressed “strong political determination”, against corruption in the Communist Party-ruled state.
| Chinese companies raise red flags CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES - Four executives expelled – chief financial officer, two executive vice presidents, and chief operating officer of flight operations. All under investigation for “job-related crimes”. NVC LIGHTING HOLDING - Chief executive and founder Wu Changjiang under investigation. CHINA RESOURCES LAND - Chairman and executive director resigned in November. Under extrajudicial detention over suspected graft DONGFENG MOTOR GROUP COMPANY - Supervisor of supervisory committee under investigation for corruption and removed from his responsibilities |