What’s new: Bai Tinghui, former head of Shanghai’s municipal state-owned asset watchdog, has been charged with “taking huge amounts” in bribes, nearly seven months after he was placed under investigation for corruption.
Prosecutors in Shanghai accused Bai of abusing his roles as vice president of Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co. Ltd. and director of the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. He allegedly exploited his positions to help others secure project contracts, settle payments and manage company operations, in return for illegally obtaining large amounts of bribes, according to a statement.
People with knowledge of the case told Caixin that Bai was targeted by investigators for wrongdoing during his tenure at Shanghai Shentong. Shortly after Bai was investigated, anti-graft authorities in Shanghai launched an inspection of the company, sources said.
Background: Bai was brought under investigation in September as Communist Party chief and director of the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, a post he had served in since February 2019.
Born in Central China’s Henan province in 1967, Bai served as general manager or chief engineer at several state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Shanghai, including Shanghai Shentong, and headed a municipal bureau responsible for water (marine) affairs.
Bai’s fall comes as a growing number of SOE executives in Shanghai have come under investigation for corruption. They include Yan Jun, former president of Shanghai International Port Group Co. Ltd., Zhou Jun, former president and CEO of Shanghai Industrial Holdings Ltd. and Cheng Feng, former deputy general manager of Shanghai United Media Group.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
