China begins prosecution of former senior spy on corruption charges

A former Chinese spy chief has been ­formally detained and will be prosecuted for suspected graft, the state prosecutor announced on Monday.

The announcement about Ma Jian, the former executive deputy minister at the Ministry of State Security, came a week after billionaire Xiao Jianhua left Hong Kong to travel to the mainland to “assist in the investigation” into Ma’s case, sources said.

In a brief statement, the ­Supreme People’s Procuratorate said Ma was suspected of taking bribes and had been subjected to “coercive measures” – a term that usually refers to detention. The prosecutor had formally started proceedings against him and a criminal investigation was under way, the statement said.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection earlier ­accused him of taking bribes, abuse of power and using his­ ­influence to interfere in law ­enforcement activities.

He had also obstructed investigations and tried to transfer and hide financial assets, it said. He was expelled from the Communist Party in December, according to the agency. Ma led counter-espionage ­operations at the ­ministry, the intelligence agency that monitors both citizens and foreigners on the Chinese mainland.

His detention, which the South China Morning Post first reported in January last year, led to revelations about massive abuses of power and political jockeying within the intelligence agency.