Former Sinopec Corp chairman Chen Tonghai has been expelled from the Communist Party and faces criminal prosecution on corruption charges after allegedly accepting hundreds of million of yuan in bribes and spending millions of it on his mistress.
"Chen has taken a huge amount of bribes and abused his power for his mistress," state television said. "He led a decadent life."
Rumors are rife that Chen spent 1.2 million yuan (HK$1.3 million) per month on his personal entertainment. Chen was reportedly involved in corrupt deals with his mistress, Li Wei, the 45-year-old owner of a local real estate firm. Li's firm allegedly bought land linked to a huge oil refinery project in eastern China at below-market prices.
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Along with former Qingdao party secretary Du Shicheng - who is being detained for a separate corruption case - Chen and Li were reportedly connected to some shady real-estate projects in Qingdao. Chen is accused of taking bribes of US$40 million (HK$312 million).
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