27 December 2018
Ma Jian, former deputy intelligence chief was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for corruption. He was found guilty of accepting bribes and insider trading. He was also ordered to pay $7.26 million in penalties. Ma pleaded guilty has decided not to appeal. His political rights have been revoked for life and all his personal assets were confiscated.
The court in the north-eastern port city of Dalian posted an online statement to the effect that Ma used his political power to aid the business operations of Guo Wengui (in picture above), a real estate billionaire wanted by Chinese authorities.
Guo Wengui, after falling out with members of the Communist Party leadership, was accused of corruption, bribing, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud and rape. He fled China and went to the United States in late 2014. Many officials with whom he was said to have ties have fallen under the dragnet of the anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping and Ma Jian is one of them.
Ma sent letters addressed from the state security bureau to threaten and pressure individuals to hand over their shares to Guo. As a result, Guo gained control of a national securities company. He obtained insider information about a company that was to be publicly listed and his relatives later purchased shares in that company and made profits of $7.2 million. The New York Times reported.
