Chen Liangyu stripped of posts
Former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu will be prosecuted in the nation's highest-level corruption case in more than a decade following a 10-month investigation.
The powerful Politburo formally stripped Chen, 60, of his Communist Party membership yesterday as well as all his official posts, including his role as a National People's Congress deputy, state media said.
The authorities removed Chen from his position as the top leader of the mainland's commercial capital in September and detained him for his role in the embezzlement of more than 3 billion yuan from Shanghai's pension fund. More than 20 government and state company officials have been implicated.
An investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which probes corruption within the party, accused Chen of a litany of alleged crimes stretching back 20 years and attacked his character as 'morally degenerate' for trading sex and power. 'This caused great damage to the interests of the state and the people, greatly damaged the image of the party and had a profoundly evil impact on society,' Xinhua and state television said.
The announcement puts an end to speculation that Chen might escape punishment. He was the highest-level leader to be sacked for alleged corruption since former Beijing mayor Chen Xitong was removed in 1995.