Former Vice President of the China Development Bank, Li Jiping, who fell from grace 8 months ago, has been formally charged with embezzlement of a particularly large sum of money.
According to the announcement made by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the Chinese Communist Party on November 22, the investigation into the case of Li Jiping, former member of the Communist Party Committee and Vice President of the China Development Bank, has concluded. Upon the designation of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the case has been reviewed for prosecution by the Xinyang Municipal Procuratorate in Henan Province. Recently, the prosecution has initiated legal proceedings against Li Jiping at the Xinyang Intermediate People’s Court.
The prosecution alleges that Li Jiping took advantage of his positions as the director of the policy research office, the head of the Sichuan branch, the deputy minister of the organizational department of the party committee, and vice president of the China Development Bank. He used his authority to seek benefits for others, illegally accepting money and property from others in a particularly large amount, thus should be held criminally responsible for the crime of embezzlement.
Li Jiping was officially investigated and removed from office on March 13, then expelled from the party and handed over to judicial authorities on August 1, followed by arrest on August 27.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China previously reported that Li Jiping grossly intervened in and manipulated the recruitment and promotion of staff in financial institutions, which polluted the political environment. He also accepted lavish gifts, unlawfully owned shares in non-listed companies, and engaged in corrupt practices. Furthermore, he exploited his power to benefit others in areas such as lending and financing, as well as business operations, accepting huge sums of money.
Born in 1955 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Li Jiping had worked at the China Construction Bank for many years before transferring to the China Development Bank in 1994. He served as the director of the personnel department of the China Development Bank and became its vice president in 2008.
Before his downfall, in December of last year, Li Jiping still appeared in public as the former Vice President of the China Development Bank and the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the China Development Finance Summit, delivering speeches through video links.
After stepping down from his positions in January 2016, Li Jiping continued to attend public events on numerous occasions. For instance, he attended the 6th China Enterprise Globalization Forum in November 2019 and the Hainan Free Trade Port International Investment (Sanya) Summit Forum in September 2020 as the former Vice President of the China Development Bank.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, several top executives and officials of the China Development Bank have either been investigated or dealt with.
In January 2021, the former chairman of the China Development Bank, Hu Huaibang (served from April 2013 to September 2018), was sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption.
On May 19 last year, former Vice President of the China Development Bank, Zhou Qingyu, was investigated. On November 5 this year, Zhou Qingyu was sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption and bribery through the abuse of power.
On July 20 last year, former Vice President of the China Development Bank, Wang Yongsheng, fell from grace. On October 21 this year, Wang Yongsheng was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption.
On January 12 this year, the former President of the Jilin Branch of the China Development Bank, Zhang Chi, was officially investigated.
On January 26 this year, former Vice President of the China Development Bank, He Xingxiang, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption, issuing financial instruments irregularly, illegally granting loans, and concealing overseas deposits.