Expelled Communist Party official named and shamed in televised confession for supporting cryptocurrency mining
- Xiao Yi, a top provincial official who was removed from his post in 2021, apologised for ‘acting recklessly’ in a state television programme aired on Sunday
- Xiao was the most senior Chinese official to be punished for supporting cryptocurrency mining after Beijing vowed to crack down on related activities
Xiao Yi, former vice-chairman of the Jiangxi provincial committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former Communist Party chief of Fuzhou city, helped a local cryptocurrency mining company hide its activities by masquerading as a big data and cloud computing business, according to a China Central Television (CCTV) programme.
Xiao instructed Jiumu Group Genesis Technology, which he presented as an exemplar of the local digital economy, to “put up a performance” during visits and inspections by other government officials. China started to crack down on cryptocurrency mining in 2018.
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From 2017 to 2020, the firm operated 160,000 cryptocurrency mining machines, which accounted for 10 per cent of Fuzhou’s total electricity consumption, according to the report.
To cover up the company’s power use, Xiao asked relevant government departments to fabricate statistics and change the categories to which its usage was assigned. He also helped the firm raise 2.4 billion yuan (US$354 million) in government financing, including loans and financial guarantees, according to the state broadcaster.
The report forms the most comprehensive official account of Xiao’s wrongdoings since he was removed from his post and the Communist Party in November 2021. At the time, a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, which accused Xiao of violating the country’s industrial policies by helping companies engage in cryptocurrency mining activities, did not disclose any details.
That investigation also found Xiao guilty of accepting bribes and attending banquets that may have compromised the fulfilment of his duties. He was also found to have traded power for money and sex, and exploited his position to favour those close to him when promoting personnel and project contracting in exchange for property.
