February 14th, in a court hearing, Li Jiping, former member of the Communist Party Committee and vice president of the China Development Bank, stood trial on charges of bribery. Li Jiping is accused of accepting bribes totaling more than 57.3 million yuan, and the verdict will be announced at a later date.
During the period from 2001 to 2021, Li Jiping allegedly used his positions as Director of the Policy Research Office of the China Development Bank, Party Secretary and President of the Sichuan Branch of the China Development Bank, Deputy Minister of the Party Organization Department and Deputy Director of the Personnel Bureau of the China Development Bank, as well as member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China Development Bank, to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in loan approvals and project contracts. He was charged with accepting a total of more than 57.3 million yuan in illegal gains directly or through intermediaries.
According to official media reports, Li Jiping pleaded guilty in court, and the court announced a recess to schedule the sentencing.
Li Jiping, 70 years old and a native of Dalian, Liaoning Province, had previously worked at the head office of the China Construction Bank. He started working at the China Development Bank in March 1994, served as the Director of the Policy Research Office in 1999, became the President of the Sichuan Branch in 2003, and was appointed Vice President in September 2008, until stepping down in January 2016.
Li Jiping, who had been out of office for 8 years, was investigated on March 13, 2024. On August 1 of the same year, he was expelled from the Communist Party, and on August 26, he was arrested.
So far, several top leaders of the China Development Bank have been investigated. For instance, in June 2016, Yao Zhongmin, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the China Development Bank, was investigated; in July 2019, Hu Huibang, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the China Development Bank, was investigated; in September 2021, He Xingxiang, then member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China Development Bank, was investigated; on May 19, 2023, Zhou Qingyu, former Vice President of the China Development Bank, was investigated; on July 20, Wang Yongsheng, former member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China Development Bank, was investigated.
For further reading:
Dozens of senior executives successively detained, Communist financial system continues to be purged.