Ex-railways chief Liu Zhijun charged with corruption

Former railways minister Liu Zhijun has been officially charged with taking bribes and abusing his office in one of the biggest corruption investigations to hit China in recent years.

Prosecutors filed charges against Liu in Beijing's No 2 Intermediate Court yesterday, Xinhua reported, in a long-anticipated move in an investigation that had led to the dismantling of the sprawling Railways Ministry last month in a cabinet shake-up. A trial date would be announced "in due time", Xinhua said.

Liu, who was removed from his post in February 2011, had been the most high-profile Communist Party official brought down amid corruption allegations until the removal last year of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, a member of the elite Politburo.

The government has not yet released any details on Bo's expected trial, but a prosecution source told the South China Morning Post it would probably happen in Beijing before June.

Liu "engaged in malpractice for personal gain and abuse of power, leading to huge losses of public properties and of the interests of the state and its people", Xinhua said.

"As a state functionary, Liu sought benefits for others by taking advantage of his position, and accepted financial incentives from others, which were of a huge amount", it added.