A Chinese steel company head turned city official was sentenced to 17 years in jail for bribery and graft on April 28, according to China’s state-run media.
Ai Baojun was the former chairman of the state-owned company Baoshan Iron and Steel and later became vice mayor of Shanghai.
He used his position to amass more than $5.8 million in assets from 2000 to 2014.
A court in Zhangzhou ruled that 5.8 million yuan (US$840,896) of Ai’s personal assets be confiscated and returned to Baosteel and to Shanghai city.
Ai was given a lenient sentence because he actively provided details of his crimes, which he accepted and apologized for, the court said. He said that many of the bribes were accepted by relatives without his knowledge.
China’s top anti-graft watchdog stripped Ai of his Party and state positions in January 2016 after an investigation.
