A former senior Chinese provincial official told a court he took about 13 million yuan (US$2.1 million) in bribes consisting largely of precious stones, state-run media reported yesterday.
Former Anhui Province vice governor Ni Fake (倪發科) had a “craving for jade,” the state-run Shanghai Daily said.
His trial on Monday was the latest case in a corruption crackdown under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who has said the scourge threatens the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Ni told the court he had accepted 49 bribes, including cash, gemstones and artworks, the Shanghai Daily said.
Jade has been used in Chinese art for millennia, and has long been as valued as gold is in the West, but carrying loftier moral connotations, including purity and longevity.
Corrupt officials have in recent years turned to taking bribes in the form of art and precious stones rather than money, according to previous reports in state-run media.
The party’s top anti-graft body said Ni was “obsessed with collecting jade” and had appointed himself honorary chairman of the provincial jewelry industry association, the Shanghai Daily said.
The official wore jade accessories every day and went to jade stores every weekend, the report quoted the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection as saying.
The 60-year-old was expelled from the party last year. Since then, more senior figures have fallen to the anti-corruption campaign, including former security boss Zhou Yongkang (周永康).
However, the CCP has resisted introducing reforms seen as key measures against graft, such as publishing officials’ assets, relaxing controls on media and establishing an independent legal system.
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