What’s new: Lu Jinwen, a former vice president of the Guangdong branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) (601398.SH), pleaded guilty to taking 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) of bribes.
A court in Shandong province heard Lu’s case Thursday. Lu, 60, was charged with bribery and illegal loan issuance. The court said sentencing would take place on a later date.
Prosecutors said Liu used his positions as a senior executive of the ICBC Guangdong branch to offer business and loan issuance favors to companies and individuals since 2003, by himself or in collusion with others. Between 2012 and 2014, Lu illegally issued a total of 700 million yuan in loans to certain companies.
Background: Lu was among several senior ICBC executives who were placed under graft investigations last year as China’s anti-corruption crackdown rattled the world’s largest lender.
Lu was investigated in September 2021 by graft busters. He was fired and expelled from the Communist Party in March.
In August, Gu Guoming, a former president of ICBC’s Shanghai branch, was sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes. In December, Zhang Keli, a former president of the ICBC Hunan branch, was put under graft investigation.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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