Shanghai pension scandal

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The Shanghai pension scandal was a corruption case in Shanghai, China, in the which resulted in the dismissal of several senior Chinese Communist Party officials from 2006 onwards.

1 Allegations
2 Dismissals
3 Political context
4 References

[edit] Allegations

Shanghai's social security fund manages 10 billion yuan in assets. The allegations are that about a third was diverted into real estate and road investment projects. ^[1]

[edit] Dismissals

Chen Liangyu, the Shanghai Party Chief and Politburo member was sacked from the party in 2006, becoming the most senior party member to be dismissed in a decade. ^[2] He was accused of illicitly investing billions of yuan of pension fund money in real estate, aiding illegal businesses, shielding corrupt colleagues, and abusing his position to benefit family members. ^[3]On April 11, 2008, Chen, 61, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for accepting $340,000 in bribes and abusing power, specifically, for stock manipulation, financial fraud and his role in the city pension fund scandal, at the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court, Tianjin.^[4]

Also sacked and expelled from the Communist Party were:

Yu Zhifei, the manager of Shanghai's Formula 1 racing track.
Chen Chaoxian, a city district chief ^[1]
Ling Baoheng, the director of the Shanghai Asset Supervision Board
Yin Guoyuan, deputy director of the Shanghai housing, land and resources administration

All those sacked will face criminal charges. ^[1]

[edit] Political context

Chen was seen as a senior member of the Shanghai clique who worked with former President Jiang Zemin and were seen as rivals to current President Hu Jintao. The dismissals were seen as strengthening the authority of Hu within the party and weakening the Jiang loyalists. ^[3]