Briefings point to conclusion of graft investigation into Zhou Yongkang
Briefings of top-level officials on investigation into former security tsar suggest scene could be set for one of China's most spectacular trials
Central authorities have begun briefing officials on findings of the corruption case centred on former security tsar Zhou Yongkang, signalling the final stage of one of the country's most significant graft investigations in decades.
The briefings included new details about the possible origins of the case against the retired Politburo Standing Committee member, according to people who received the information.
For instance, the decision to investigate Zhou last summer was made after findings of an inquiry into his former top aide Guo Yongxiang were presented to the top leadership.
Guo - a former Sichuan deputy governor and Zhou secretary - was detained on suspicion of corruption in June. He was by then semi-retired in an honorary role as chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles in Sichuan, a political power base of Zhou's.
The briefings were seen as a sign the case against Zhou, who was until late 2012 one of the nine most powerful officials in the Communist Party, could be announced soon, perhaps after the Lunar New Year holiday. Such briefings for top-level officials are customary at the culmination of highly sensitive cases.
Zhou would be first current or retired member of the Politburo Standing Committee to be charged with financial crimes. President Xi Jinping's decision to launch an unprecedented investigation against him was first reported by the South China Morning Post in August.
Surprisingly, another key Zhou aide facing graft allegations, former Sichuan deputy party secretary Li Chuncheng , was not mentioned in the recent briefings. Li's detention weeks after Xi became party chief was one of the first public signs Zhou's circle had been targeted.