Former director of the China National Tobacco Monopoly Administration (NTMA), Ling Chengxing, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after falling from power 19 months ago. He was found guilty of accepting bribes totaling over 43.11 million Chinese yuan (RMB), leading to a loss of over 208 million yuan in state assets.
On May 21, the Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun City, Jilin Province, publicly announced the first-instance judgment in the bribery and abuse of power case involving Ling Chengxing, a former member of the Communist Party Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, former secretary of the Party Committee and director of the NTMA, and former general manager of China Tobacco Corporation.
Ling Chengxing was sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting bribes and fined 4 million yuan. Additionally, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the abuse of power as a state-owned company employee. The court decided to execute a total of 16 years in prison and imposed a fine of 4 million yuan.
According to the court, since 2006, Ling Chengxing used his positions as Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province, director of the NTMA, and general manager of China Tobacco Corporation to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in project contracting, business operations, and other matters, illegally receiving a total of over 43.11 million yuan in bribes.
Since 2015, while serving as director of the NTMA and general manager of China Tobacco Corporation, Ling Chengxing engaged in favoritism, corruption, and abuse of power during the investment, review, and equity acquisition processes, resulting in a loss of over 208 million yuan in state assets.
Public records show that Ling Chengxing was born in October 1957 in Shanggao, Jiangxi, and started working in December 1980. He held various positions in Jiangxi, including Mayor of Fengcheng City, Deputy Director of the Jiangxi Provincial Economic Commission, director (manager) of the NTMA in Jiangxi, and Assistant to the Governor of Jiangxi.
He became Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province in 2001 and Deputy Governor in 2006. In 2013, Ling Chengxing was appointed as a Party Committee member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the NTMA until he stepped down in 2018.
In October 2023, Ling Chengxing was investigated, becoming the highest-ranking official in the Chinese tobacco system to fall from power since the end of 2021. He was also the first “top leader” of the NTMA to be investigated since its establishment.
In April 2024, Ling Chengxing was expelled from the Communist Party, and in November of the same year, he was prosecuted.