Former Kweichow Moutai vice-chairman jailed for taking bribes

Liu Zili, former vice-chairman of leading Chinese liquor maker Kweichow Moutai Group, was sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison on Monday for taking bribes and also fined 1 million yuan ($144,600), a court in Guizhou province said.

His illegal gains, worth about 18.54 million yuan, were also confiscated, the Qiannan Intermediate People's Court said.

From 2008 to 2018, Liu took advantage of his positions to seek profits for others in matters such as obtaining the management rights of Moutai liquor and approving quotas for purchasing the liquor, and he took bribes from others directly or through his wife or daughter in return, the court said in its verdict.

After his arrest, Liu confessed to many criminal facts that the authorities were unaware of and he pleaded guilty in court, so he was given lighter punishment, it said.

Liu was arrested by the provincial people's procuratorate on suspicion of accepting bribes in September and was expelled from the Party the same month.