Bank official charged with accepting bribes

A senior manager of a State-owned bank stood trial on Wednesday on charges of accepting bribes, including 4 kg of gold bars.

Yang Kun, a former vice-chairman of the Agricultural Bank of China, stood trial in Nanjing Intermediate People's court for allegedly accepting bribes worth 30.79 million yuan ($4.94 million), 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.

The prosecutors said that during Spring Festival, 2009, Yang accepted 4 kg of gold bars from a real estate businessman who wanted a loan from the bank to finance a residential project in Beijing. The gold bars were valued at about 1.15 million yuan, the prosecutors said.

Yang was accused of accepting bribes on five instances, including a painting by Qi Baishi, a famous Chinese artist, valued at about 1.8 million yuan, the report said.

The court has not yet issued its verdict.