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Ex-head of China’s CNPC admits to taking bribes

HONG KONG — A former Communist Party official who oversaw China’s biggest state companies and ran the country’s largest oil and gas firm acknowledged at his trial yesterday that he took large bribes, according to an official report from the court.

Jiang Jiemin admitted in court yesterday to taking bribes and acquiring a large amount of unexplained wealth.  PHOTO: REUTERS

Jiang Jiemin admitted in court yesterday to taking bribes and acquiring a large amount of unexplained wealth. PHOTO: REUTERS

HONG KONG — A former Communist Party official who oversaw China’s biggest state companies and ran the country’s largest oil and gas firm acknowledged at his trial yesterday that he took large bribes, according to an official report from the court.

The former official, Jiang Jiemin, stood trial at the Hanjiang Intermediate People’s Court in the central Chinese province of Hubei.

His case has attracted particular attention because of Jiang’s ties to Zhou Yongkang, the former head of domestic security and law and order, who has also been indicted on corruption and other charges.

According to the court’s brief summary, issued on the Internet, Jiang “did not dispute” the three charges against him: Taking bribes, accumulating unexplained wealth and abusing his powers as a state company employee. The prosecution and defence finished making their arguments in the afternoon, but there was no immediate announcement of a judgment, which under China’s party-run judiciary was almost certain to be a guilty verdict and a long prison sentence.

Jiang, 59, had been the director of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which regulates China’s biggest state companies, for less than six months when party investigators announced in September 2013 that he was under investigation on suspicion of graft.

Jiang was also a member of the Central Committee, a Communist Party leadership council with about 200 full members. He was among the first senior officials, or “tigers”, toppled in President Xi Jinping’s campaign against corruption.

But the charges against Jiang announced in March concerned his earlier posts as a deputy manager, general manager and finally chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation, the country’s biggest oil producer, which is also the parent company of PetroChina, a company traded on the Shanghai, New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

The prosecutors said that between 2004 and 2013, Jiang took bribes, directly or through his wife, in return for granting projects and job promotions, according to a report from the trial by Xinhua, the state news agency.

“Jiang Jiemin’s personal and family wealth and outlays clearly exceeded the legitimate income of himself and his family,” said the Xinhua report, citing the prosecution.

Zhou also started his career in the oil sector and rose to become general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation.

He continued to pay attention to the company after he moved to higher positions, eventually assuming a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee and overseeing the domestic security apparatus before his retirement in November 2012. Party investigators announced Zhou was under investigation in July.

Prosecutors said this month that Zhou would face trial on charges including taking bribes, abusing his official powers and leaking state secrets.

The prosecutors said the charges included crimes committed while Zhou was an executive of the China National Petroleum Corporation. The brief court summaries and the Xinhua report from Jiang’s trial did not mention Zhou. THE NEW YORK TIMES

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