Former senior Xizang legislator given 13-year sentence for bribery

The Intermediate People's Court of Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province sentenced Ji Guogang, a former senior legislator of the Xizang autonomous region, to a 13-year prison term on Wednesday after convicting him of multiple bribery charges.

Ji, who served as the former deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Xizang Autonomous Regional People's Congress, was fined 3 million yuan ($412,000). The illicit proceeds of bribery and interest linked to the bribery charge were confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.

From 2002 to 2022, Ji utilized his positions to facilitate entities and individuals in obtaining project approvals and equity transfers. In exchange, he, either directly or through his relatives, accepted money and property totaling more than 43.98 million yuan. He once worked at Fixed Assets Investment Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Development and Reform Commission of the Xizang Autonomous Region, and as chairman of the Xizang Development Investment Group Co Ltd.

Additionally, from 2016 to 2021, while serving as the president and legal representative of the Xizang Development Investment Group, he engaged in favoritism, abuse of power and has caused particularly significant losses to State interests.

Ji, aged 61, began working in 1983 and joined the Communist Party of China one year later.

The Intermediate People's Court of Chengdu held that Ji's actions constituted bribery and abuse of power in a state-owned company. Due to the exceptionally large amount of bribery and the significant harm caused to national interests by his abuse of power in a State-owned company, he should be punished according to law.

Considering the circumstances of attempted bribery, truthful confession upon arrest, voluntary disclosure of bribery facts unknown to the investigating authorities, confession and repentance, active return of illicit gains, and the full recovery of the proceeds of bribery, a lighter punishment was warranted under the law.

The court thus made the aforementioned judgment.