What’s new: Shanghai state media veteran Cheng Feng was in court Wednesday to face charges of accepting 38.52 million yuan ($5.4 million) in bribes and concealing deposits made overseas from authorities, according to the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court.
From 2006 to 2023, Cheng allegedly took advantage of his positions including deputy general manager of Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG) and chairman of an asset management company under SUMG, and helped others with matters including obtaining investment, undertaking projects and bidding for acquisitions, the court said in a statement released following the hearing.
Of the almost 40 million yuan he accepted in return for favors, 1 million yuan was not actually received, the court said.
The prosecutors also found Cheng concealed the fact that he had transferred nearly $15 million to the Philippines between March and May 2023, which had been deposited under names of his relatives.
Cheng did not dispute the charges, the court said, adding that Cheng’s sentence will be announced at a later date.
The background: Cheng, 52, fell under a graft probe in July 2023, after serving as the deputy general manager of SUMG for nearly a decade.
Since then, a number of officials within Shanghai’s state-asset management system and executives of state-owned companies in the financial hub have been investigated. The list includes Bai Tinghui, former head of Shanghai’s municipal state-owned asset watchdog; Yan Jun, former president of Shanghai International Port Group Co. Ltd.; and Zhou Jun, CEO of state-owned investment holding conglomerate Shanghai Industrial Holdings Ltd.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)
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