CHINA: FORMER PARTY CHIEF OF HANGZHOU SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH TWO-YEAR REPRIEVE FOR BRIBERY

August 3, 2023:

Zhou Jiangyong, former Party chief of Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, was sentenced on July 25, 2023 to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery.
He was deprived of political rights for life and all his personal property was confiscated, as he illegally accepted more than 182 million yuan ($25.49 million) directly or through his family members. 
All proceeds from Zhou's bribery and their respective profits were ordered to be recovered in accordance with the law and handed over to the state treasury, according to the Intermediate People's Court of Chuzhou in East China's Anhui Province. 
Upon trial, it was found that from 2001 to 2021, Zhou, using his positions such as deputy county head of Yinzhou County in East China's Zhejiang, county head and Party secretary of Xiangshan, member of the Standing Committee of Ningbo Party Committee, mayor of Zhoushan, member of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, member of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, and Secretary of Hangzhou Party Committee, provided assistance to relevant units and individuals in project construction, contract awarding, land acquisition, and case handling. He directly or indirectly received illicit gains amounting to over 182 million yuan.
Zhou was put under both disciplinary and supervisory investigations by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission in August 2021, and was expelled from the Party and public office for violating laws and disciplines in January 2022.
The court held that Zhou Jiangyong's actions constituted the crime of accepting bribes. Zhou's bribery involved an extraordinarily large amount, causing particularly significant losses to the national and public interest, which according to law, should be severely punished.
Considering that Zhou confessed to his crimes after being captured, voluntarily admitted to parts of his bribery crimes unknown to the supervisory authority, expressed regret for his crimes, proactively returned the illicit gains, and all the illicit money and goods have been fully recovered, there were statutory and discretionary mitigating circumstances. The court, therefore, handed down the aforementioned sentence.