Ex-Bank of China chairman arrested on bribery charges

Liu Liange, the ex-chairman of the Bank of China, has been arrested on corruption charges, Chinese state media said.

Liu, who led the state-owned bank from 2019 until March of this year, was arrested by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on suspicion of bribery and providing illegal loans, Xinhua said on Monday.

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

Liu’s arrest comes about a week after he was expelled from the ruling Chinese Communist Party following accusations of wrongdoing by the country’s anticorruption watchdog.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection accused Liu of a range of illicit activities, including illegally granting loans, bringing banned publications into the country and using his position to accept bribes and other perks.

Liu is a prominent figure in China’s financial circles, having previously held senior positions in the central bank and the Export-Import Bank of China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged an exhaustive campaign to weed out corruption since coming to power in 2012.

Xi’s anticorruption drive has ensnared a number of prominent financial executives at state-owned banks.

Last month, Wang Bin, the former chairman of China Life Insurance, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for accepting 325 million yuan ($44.6m) in bribes.

Critics have accused Xi of using corruption charges as a pretext to purge his political rivals.