China general charged with corruption
Iran Press TV
Tue Apr 1, 2014 7:52AM GMT
China has formally charged a senior army officer with corruption and abuse of power, in what has become the biggest corruption scandal to engulf the army.
A military prosecutor charged Lieutenant General Gu Junshan with embezzlement, bribery, misuse of state funds and abuse of power, China's official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
Gu has been under investigation for more than two years since he was fired as deputy director of the army's logistics department. Gu was in charge of procurement and contracts for the 2.3 million-member armed forces.
Last year, investigators seized four truckloads of goods from one of his mansions, including "a gold boat, a gold wash basin and a gold statue of Mao Zedong" as well as a collection of apartments in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
The formal move against Gu makes him the most senior military leader ever targeted for corruption in China.
Gu is also the first military figure to be charged with corruption since President Xi Jinping launched a graft crackdown shortly after taking office in 2012. Xi has vowed to target both senior "tigers" and low-level "flies" as well as junior bureaucrats.
In 2006, vice admiral and deputy navy commander, Wang Shouye, was jailed for life for embezzling 160 million yuan (USD 25.82 million).
CAH/HSN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
