Former vice president of the China Development Bank, Zhou Qingyu, who has been under investigation for about a year and a half, was sentenced in the first instance for bribery, with the amount exceeding 68.43 million yuan (RMB), and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
On November 5, the Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun City, Jilin Province, publicly announced the first-instance verdict of Zhou Qingyu, former member of the National Development Bank’s Party Committee and vice president, for bribery and bribery using influence.
Zhou Qingyu was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribery, with a fine of 5 million yuan; sentenced to 3 years in prison for bribery using influence, with a fine of 200,000 yuan. The court decided to impose a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of 5.2 million yuan.
The court stated that from 2013 to 2023, Zhou Qingyu took advantage of his position and the convenient conditions formed by authority or status to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in matters such as loans, project contracting, enterprise operations, and personnel arrangements directly or through others, illegally accepting more than 67.43 million yuan in bribes.
From October 2022 to March 2023, after leaving office, Zhou Qingyu used his former authority or position to seek improper benefits for relevant units and individuals in project contracting through acts of other state workers, and illegally accepted 1 million yuan.
Zhou Qingyu’s actions constituted the crimes of bribery and bribery using influence.
On May 19, 2023, Zhou Qingyu was investigated; on November 16, he was expelled from the Party and had his relevant benefits canceled; on December 14, he was arrested and transferred to judicial authorities.
Born in September 1962, Zhou Qingyu had long served in the financial system. In 2011, he became the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the China Development Bank, and from 2016 to July 2022, he served as the vice president of the China Development Bank.
On July 12, 2022, Zhou Qingyu was officially dismissed by the relevant authorities, and he was supposed to reach the retirement age in September 2022, which attracted public attention at the time.
Less than a year after being dismissed, Zhou Qingyu was officially investigated on May 19, 2023; on November 16, he was expelled from the Party and had his relevant benefits canceled; on December 14, he was arrested and transferred to the prosecutorial authorities.
In recent years, several high-ranking officials of the China Development Bank have been removed from their positions.
On March 13 this year, Li Jiping, former vice president of the China Development Bank, was removed from his position after retiring for 8 years; in July 2023, former vice president Wang Yingsheng was investigated; in September 2021, the then vice president He Xingxiang was investigated; in July 2019, former chairman Hu Huaibang was investigated; and in June 2016, former chairman Yao Zhongmin was investigated.
Established in 1994, the China Development Bank is a state-owned development financial institution under the direct leadership of the State Council of the Communist Party of China.