The first-instance verdict in the bribery case of Xu Xianping, former deputy director of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, has been issued

According to the Supreme People’s Court of China, the Intermediate People’s Court of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on July 29 issued a firstinstance verdict in the bribery case of Xu Xianping, former member of the Party Leadership Group and former Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and fined 5 million yuan. His illegal gains and related property will be recovered in accordance with the law and turned over to the state treasury. The court found that from 2001 to 2021, Xu Xianping took advantage of the convenience of his official positions while working in the Hunan provincial government, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, and the National Development and Reform Commission, among others, to provide assistance in matters such as business operations, project contracting, and job adjustments, and illegally accepted property worth more than 62.53 million yuan. The court held that the amount of Xu Xianping’s bribes was especially enormous and that he should be punished according to law; at the same time, considering that after being brought to justice he truthfully confessed, voluntarily disclosed some facts that the investigating authorities had not yet uncovered, and showed signs of admitting guilt and remorse as well as actively returning illicit gains, he was given a lighter punishment in accordance with the law. The case was publicly heard on May 15 this year.