Former Bank of China chairman arrested for corruption

BEIJING, CHINA — The former chairman of the Bank of China has been formally arrested for suspected corruption, state media reported Monday, citing the country’s top prosecutor.

The state-owned bank said in February that Liu Lian’ge, 62, had stepped down as chairman and been removed from his position as Communist Party chief.

China’s top anti-corruption watchdog announced the following month that Liu was under investigation for alleged “severe violations of discipline and law”.

Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a sweeping campaign on deep-seated official corruption.

Proponents say the policy promotes clean governance, while critics claim it helps Xi purge political rivals.

On Monday, state news agency Xinhua reported that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate had “taken the decision to arrest Liu Lian’ge on suspicion of taking bribes and illegally granting loans”.

His case has “been transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution… and is currently under further processing”, according to Xinhua.

— AFP