Former GM of Sinochem Group charged with corruption amid crackdown in China

A Chinese court sentenced the former general manager of Sinochem Group to 12 years in prison for graft, official media reported Wednesday, the latest state-owned enterprise executive to be caught up in a sweeping crackdown on corruption. Cai Xiyou, who headed the Chinese energy and chemicals conglomerate, was charged with abusing his position to amass ill-gotten gains worth 53.7 million yuan, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. The court in China's eastern Shandong province also slapped a 3 million yuan fine on Cai in addition to the prison sentence.

He pleaded guilty to the charges and said he would not appeal, Xinhua said. A 30-year oil industry veteran, Cai was appointed to the top job at Sinochem in 2014, after a long career at China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec)where he served as a Communist Party committee member and senior vice president. He was put under investigation in 2016. Wang Yongchun, a deputy general manager at China's biggest oil company, China National Petroleum Corporation was jailed for 20 years for graft in 2015.