Top Chinese judge being investigated for corruption has links to energy tycoon, mainland media claim

The most senior judiciary official to be investigated for corruption since the start of the anti-graft campaign has close ties with a tycoon in the resource-rich Shanxi  province, mainland media reported.

Xi Xiaoming, 61, a vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court, is being investigated by the nation’s anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, on suspicion of “serious disciplinary violations and offences”.

Mainland news portal Caixin reported yesterday that Xi, who has expertise in civil and commercial jurisdictions, and is leading a new group on China’s civil code, is connected to a tycoon in Shanxi, which has been hit by a series of corruption scandals. It said that Xi had interfered in court proceedings on behalf of the province's former richest tycoon.

“Xi Xiaoming well understood the civil and commercial laws and would take different techniques to flip cases to help others gain illicit benefits,” Caixin quoted a source as saying.

One of the most controversial cases, according to Caixin, involved coal mine owner Zhang Xinming. In March 2004, Zhang had spent 18 million yuan (HK$23 million) to acquire a 60 per cent stake of the 53-sq-km Daning Jinhai coal mine, which was estimated to have more than 400 million tonnes of 8reserves.

However, because Zhang couldn’t afford to pay 224 million yuan for the mining rights till 2007 he started to borrow cash from, and sell equities to, two other companies. After a series of loans and equity transfers, by the end of 2007, Shanxi Qinhe Energy had replaced Zhang as the owner of the mine with 62 per cent of the equities.