China sentences former justice minister Tang Yijun to life imprisonment over bribery

China's former justice minister Tang Yijun was sentenced by a Chinese court to life in prison on Monday ​for taking bribes.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that the Xiamen Intermediate People's ‌Court in the southeastern coastal Fujian province said Tang had illegally accepted property worth more than ‌137 million yuan ($19.71 million) between 2006 and 2022 and abused his position to seek benefits for entities and individuals in areas such as company listings, land buybacks, bank loans, and case handling.

Claim against China's ex-justice minister:

The court ‌said in its ruling, "Tang’s actions constituted the crime ⁠of bribery," adding that the sums involved were "particularly huge" and caused "particularly serious losses" to the interests of the state ‍and the people.

Tang was also deprived of political rights for life and had all of his personal property confiscated, CCTV said.

The sentence comes as President Xi Jinping presses ​ahead with a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that has ensnared a string ‌of high-ranking officials in recent weeks.

The country's anti-graft watchdog said over the weekend it had opened a probe into Wang Xiangxi, minister of emergency management—a rare case of a sitting minister falling under investigation.

Last month, China said its top general, Zhang Youxia, was being investigated in the highest-profile purge to ⁠date of senior military leadership.

The 64-year-old started ​his career in the eastern Zhejiang province, ​where he spent over three decades and rose to become the province's deputy Communist Party chief.

Tang later served as governor of ‍Liaoning province before ⁠being appointed justice minister in 2020.

Tang Yijun is also classified as a close aide to Xi, as he served as Ningbo party secretary when Xi served as Zhejiang province deputy party secretary and party secretary from 2002 to 2007.

Previously, the former Justice Minister Tang Yijun was investigated in April 2024 by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

The court found that from 2006 to 2022, while holding key posts in Zhejiang province, Liaoning province, and the Ministry of Justice, Tang Yijun used official authority to help with corporations' management and case handling and received 137 million yuan (about 28.6 billion won) in bribes.

Tang came under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, a term commonly ⁠used to refer to corruption.

Additionally, the accused disgraced minister was expelled from the Communist Party later that year.