Shanghai Bright Food Group executives have been involved in a series of incidents in recent years. Most recently, Lu Ming, former deputy general manager of Shanghai Urban Life Enterprise Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bright Food Group, is under investigation. The Bright Food Group has a special interest relationship with the family of the former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin.
According to the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission of Changning District, Shanghai, on August 19th, Lu Ming, former deputy general manager of Shanghai Urban Life Enterprise Development Co., Ltd., is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
Shanghai Urban Life Enterprise Development Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Bright Food Group. Since its establishment in 2005, the company has been highly favored by central and local officials and has received more than 30 industry awards, including leadership awards, outstanding sales brand awards, and consumer satisfaction product awards.
The Bright Food Group is a modern urban industrial group with the food industry chain as its core. It currently has five A-share listed companies, namely, Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jinfeng Liquor Co., Ltd., Shanghai Melin Zhengguanghe Co., Ltd., Bright Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., and KaiChuang International.
On May 26th last year, Shen Hongze, former party secretary and chairman of Bright Real Estate Group, a subsidiary of Bright Food, was placed under investigation.
In August 2018, Lu Yongjie, former party secretary and chairman of Bright Food Group, was expelled from the Communist Party and dismissed from public office for serious violations of discipline and law. Lu Yongjie was accused of embezzlement, bribery, abuse of power, and other crimes.
In March 2017, Li Ke, former market director and deputy general manager of Bright Dairy, was sentenced to a suspended imprisonment for three years for bribery.
At the end of 2016, Guo Benheng, former president of Bright Dairy, was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 600,000 yuan for corruption and bribery.
In September 2014, Dong Luping, former director and general manager of Shanghai Jinfeng Liquor Co., was arrested on suspicion of bribery.
In July 2014, Wang Zongnan, former chairman of Bright Food Group, was arrested on charges of embezzlement, bribery, and corruption. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and deprived of political rights for five years.
The predecessor of Bright Food Group was Shanghai Yimin Food Factory, where the former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin once served as chairman of the factory’s trade union, member of the party committee, and deputy factory director. It was Jiang Zemin’s place of origin.
In 2006, Shanghai Yimin Food Factory was integrated into Bright Food Group. On April 20th of that year, accompanied by the then Party Secretary of Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, Jiang Zemin revisited Yimin Food Factory. Chen Liangyu stated that Yimin Food Factory was the birthplace of China’s modern food industry and thus, “Bright must be revived.” Therefore, the restructuring of the Bright Group was completed under Jiang Zemin’s direct inquiry, with Wang Zongnan as the first chairman after the reorganization.