Sixty Officials in Henan’s Tobacco System Disciplined for Bribing a Former Director to Buy Promotion

Beijing News Express (Reporter Wang Shu), August 26: A circular on the rectification of issues uncovered during a special inspection, released by the Party leadership group of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, revealed that 60 officials suspected of bribing Zheng Jianmin, the former top official of the Henan provincial bureau implicated in a 2012 case, in order to buy promotions, have been subject to further serious disciplinary action. Party and administrative disciplinary responsibility was pursued against 49 people (including one department-level official); 16 people received organizational sanctions (5 of whom were also subject to Party and administrative discipline), including 3 who were dismissed from their posts, 1 department-level official who was reassigned to a non-leadership role, and 12 who were transferred to different positions.

Zheng Jianmin, formerly director of the Henan Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014. Public records show that he served as director of the Xinzheng Cigarette Factory starting in 1985. During his tenure, the “Mango” brand became one of the top-selling cigarette brands in China. As a result, Zheng Jianmin received the National May 1 Labor Medal.

The court found that Zheng Jianmin repeatedly accepted cash, shopping cards, photography equipment, watches, houses, gold bars, and other items from others, equivalent to RMB 28.2235 million, in addition to USD 35,800 and EUR 11,200, and also extorted RMB 650,000 from others. The total value of his bribery and extortion was close to RMB 30 million.

During the 2014 trial, it was revealed that Shi Jianchao, former marketing center director of Henan China Tobacco, and Li Guangming, former director of the Jiaozuo Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, among others, had bribed Zheng Jianmin. This latest inspection rectification report shows that as many as 60 officials in the tobacco system bribed Zheng Jianmin that year in order to secure promotions.

The central inspection team had previously pointed out that the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration’s “Beijing liaison offices had become places for dining, drinking, and entertainment.” In response, the Party leadership group of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration admitted that a provincial tobacco monopoly bureau had rented a villa in Beijing at a high price, and the personnel involved have now been disciplined. As of July 31, all 53 Beijing liaison offices under the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration had been shut down.

The circular also mentioned that the administration and 8 specialized companies had improperly issued RMB 245,000 in sponsorship fees for employees’ children to enroll in kindergarten and school; and that a provincial tobacco monopoly bureau had built and purchased an “employee training center” at Jingpo Lake in Mudanjiang. The Party leadership group stated that these issues have all been addressed: the sponsorship fees have been refunded and recovered, and the “employee training center” located in the Jingpo Lake scenic area has now been listed for transfer.

The circular also showed that during the inspection rectification period, 5 heads of provincial-level directly affiliated units in the tobacco system were held accountable, and 7 prefecture- and city-level top officials deemed unsuitable for their current positions were reassigned.