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Major General Liao Xijun was deputy commander of the Guizhou military command. Photo: SCMP Pictures

PLA general held after 37m yuan seized, but takedown hints at revenge plot against prominent brother

Military graft inspectors have detained Liao Xijun, sources say, but the investigation might be the work of former rivals of his sibling, Liao Xilong, who cleaned up the logistics department

Military graft-busters have detained the younger brother of a PLA officer who helped bring down a high-profile officer on bribery and embezzlement charges, according to several sources close to the fighting force.

Major General Liao Xijun was detained after inspectors seized tens of millions of yuan, among other valuables, in raids on properties he owns in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, they said.

His elder brother is Liao Xilong, a retired general who was instrumental in President Xi Jinping’s initial wave of takedowns of corrupt power bases within the military.

There has been speculation the latest move could be blowback from lingering elements within those factions, according to one source.

Investigators raided three properties that Liao Xijun owns in Guiyang, and seized 37 million yuan (HK$43.8 million) in cash, along with gold and other items, the sources said. Provincial military officers were briefed on the matter on Friday last week.

Liao became deputy commander of the Guizhou military command in 2008 and was promoted to his current rank a year later. The elder brother has been credited with helping to take down Gu Junshan, a former deputy logistics chief who was given a suspended death sentence last year for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, among other charges.

Liao Xilong, a retired general, was instrumental in President Xi Jinping’s initial wave of takedowns of corrupt power bases in the military. Photo: SCMP Pictures

His downfall was one of three spectacular graft scandals to rock the military last year. The other two centred on Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, the lynchpins of the Central Military Commission (CMC) for two presidents, and who were widely believed to control power bases not entirely aligned with President Xi Jinping. Xu died before graft investigators could bring charges against him, while Guo is awaiting trial.

Until the PLA overhaul, the logistics department oversaw housing, supplies and construction, which accounted for a large slice of defence spending and made it ripe for corruption.

The elder Liao’s role in cleaning up the department was praised by Liu Yuan, a retired general “princeling” who was its political commissar and who led the wider effort to root out corruption within the force.

PLA general who helped Xi battle graft in military retires

Liu said he would not have attempted to take on Gu unless the elder Liao was backing the move. “I wouldn’t bother to find something troublesome to do, especially when I had just gotten back to the General Logistics Department less than a year ago,” he said in a farewell speech last year.

It was possible the case against Liao Xijun was mounted by elements targeting his older brother, according to one source. Any protection the retired general has enjoyed might be under threat from faction remnants still bitter over the takedowns, the source said.

There has been no indication that the elder Liao is implicated in the case against his brother.

Additional reporting by Jun Mai

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