Ex-official at Volkswagen China joint venture jailed for life for taking bribes
Official at FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co took 33 million yuan in kickbacks from advertisers and car dealers. State-owned FAW Group's chairman also under investigation for alleged graft
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 April, 2015, 3:01pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 April, 2015, 7:46pm
Reuters in Beijing
VW owns 40 per cent of its joint venture with state-owned FAW Group. Shi Tao (right), former deputy general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co, was convicted for taking 33 million yuan in bribes. Photos: SCMP, Sohu
A former top executive at Volkswagen’s China joint venture with FAW Group Corp was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes, state media reported.
Shi Tao, former deputy general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co, was convicted for taking 33 million yuan (H$42 million ) in bribes, the state-owned Shanghai Daily reported, citing a court in northeastern Jilin province.
Shi helped advertisers and car dealers obtain business orders from FAW-Volkswagen in exchange for the bribes, the newspaper said.
He accepted kickbacks from 48 people and companies from 2006 and amassed 26.7 million yuan in property derived from unclear sources before he was discovered in an audit two years ago.
Volkswagen declined to make an immediate comment. A spokesman for the joint venture directed questions to Volkswagen. Calls to relevant departments at the court went unanswered.
FAW Group owns 60 per cent of the joint venture, while Volkswagen owns 40 per cent. Volkswagen also has a joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp in China.
A corruption crackdown at state-owned companies like FAW Group is part of a larger campaign by President Xi Jinping to fight graft as well as to reform state companies.
The Communist Party’s Central Commision for Discipline Inspection said last month that FAW Group’s chairman Xu Jianyi was under investigation for violating party discipline, a euphemism for corruption.
FAW Group, parent to Faw Car Co Ltd, also has joint ventures with Toyota Motor Corp and General Motors Co in China.
