Former Vice President Xu Zuo of CITIC Group has been sentenced to life imprisonment, a year and a half after falling from power during his tenure. He was convicted of two charges, with the bribery amounting to as high as 147 million yuan. CITIC Group has long been a gathering place for princelings.
On December 12, the Shenyang Intermediate People’s Court in Liaoning Province publicly pronounced the verdict for Xu Zuo, former member of the party committee and deputy general manager of China CITIC Group Co., Ltd., on charges of bribery and illegal operation of similar businesses. Xu Zuo was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery and 7 years for illegal operation of similar businesses, with the decision to enforce life imprisonment and confiscate all of his personal assets.
The court stated that from 1999 to 2024, Xu Zuo took advantage of his positions as Vice General Manager, General Manager, Vice Chairman, Chairman of the Board of Directors at CITIC Dach Group Co., Ltd., and Deputy General Manager of China CITIC Group Co., Ltd., to seek benefits for relevant personnel in project undertakings and business cooperation, illegally accepting a total of more than 147 million yuan in assets.
From 2012 to 2024, Xu Zuo, taking advantage of his positions as General Manager, Vice Chairman, Chairman of the Board at CITIC Dach Group Co., Ltd., operated businesses similar to those of the companies he served in, making enormous profits.
On June 9, 2024, Xu Zuo was officially announced to be under investigation, causing a stir in the Chinese financial industry. On December 12 of the same year, official reports stated that Xu Zuo was expelled from the party, dismissed from public office, and handed over to the judiciary.
Public records show that Xu Zuo was born in October 1965 in Dawu, Hubei, and graduated from Kunming University of Science and Technology (now Kunming University of Science and Technology) with a major in metallurgy and heat treatment, holding a bachelor’s degree. He has served as a delegate to the 14th National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China, Vice General Manager, Chief Engineer of China CITIC Group Co., Ltd., and Chairman of CITIC Dach Group Co., Ltd.
CITIC Group Co., Ltd. (formerly China International Trust and Investment Corporation) was founded in 1979 with the support of the former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping by “Red Capitalist” Rong Yiren. In 2002, the company underwent a structural reform and was renamed as China CITIC Group Company, becoming an authorized investment institution of the CCP state. In 2011, the group was restructured as a wholly state-owned company and renamed China CITIC Group Co., Ltd.