Shipbuilding expert under investigation for graft

Bu Jianjie, formerly senior director at a China Shipbuilding Industry Corp research institute, has been placed under investigation for alleged graft, the authorities said on Monday.

Bu, 64, director of CSIC's 718 Research Institute, violated Party disciplines to acquire Canadian nationality and did not truthfully report his personal information as required by Party rules, the Hebei Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the provincial Supervisory Commission said in a statement posted on their website.

He is being investigated by the two commissions for serious violations of Party rules and the law.

The statement said Bu has been accused of corruption and embezzling public funds. He also allegedly took advantage of his job to gain benefits for other enterprises or individuals in return for huge bribes, paid in cash or property.

"As a senior Party official, he has lost his ideals and faith and had a strong desire for money," the statement said. "Especially after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, he ... was still involved with corruption crimes."

Born in Hebei, Bu graduated from the College of Shipbuilding Engineering in Harbin, capital of northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, in 1982. As a visiting scholar, he went to Canada's University of Western Ontario and Queen's University in 1996 for further education.

In the past 20 years, he has been engaged in national defense science and technology research and has finished more than 30 research reports and published 25 papers in major journals.

Bu has been expelled from the Party and his retirement welfare entitlements will be canceled. The authorities will transfer the criminal case to the Hebei Provincial People's Procuratorate for further investigation and the confiscation of illicit assets.