Ex-official pleads guilty to accepting large bribes

Bai Xiangqun, former vice-chairman of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, pleaded guilty in court on Thursday in Liaoning province to taking bribes, insider trading and leaking of insider information.

Prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of his various positions to help departments and individuals in coal resource allocation, real estate projects, construction contracting and promotions from 1999 to 2018. In turn, Bai solicited and accepted money and property worth a total of 85.2 million yuan ($12.6 million).

Prosecutors said Bai used his positions as Party chief of Wuhai city and Xiliin Gol League to illegally transfer public property valued at more than 7.1 million yuan to himself five times from 2008 to 2012.

From October 2010 to February 2015, Bai also illegally obtained insider information about several stocks and instructed others to buy them, earning a profit of 17.2 million yuan.

The disclosure of inside information also caused others to buy the same stocks, from which those people made a profit of more than 40.5 million yuan.

Born in 1962, Bai started his career in 1984 at the education bureau of Chifeng city, Inner Mongolia. He also served as secretary of the Communist Youth League of the autonomous region, mayor and Party chief of Wuhai, and Party chief of Xiliin Gol League. He took the position of vice-chairman of the autonomous region in May 2012.

He was placed under investigation in April last year and expelled from the Party and removed from public office in October.

Bai made a final statement and pleaded guilty at Dalian Intermediate People's Court. A verdict will be handed down at a later date.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.