Ji Jianye: Nanjing former mayor jailed for 15 years for corruption

Nanjing’s former mayor, Ji Jianye, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for corruption.

The Chinese court in Yantai found Ji Jianye guilty of accepting 11.3 million yuan ($1.9 million) in bribes between 1999 and 2013, when he was dismissed.

As mayor Ji Jianye was nicknamed “Bulldozer” for his heavy promotion of construction and redevelopment in Nanjing.

Ji Jianye is the latest high profile official to be jailed under President Xi Jinping’s corruption crackdown.

The court said in a statement that it had been “lenient in meting out punishment, as Ji admitted his guilt and showed repentance”.

Ji Jianye assumed the powerful role of mayor of Nanjing in 2010.

Nnajing is the capital of Jiangsu province and home to about seven million people.

In January 2013 Ji Jianye was placed under investigation suspected of “severe violations of disciplines and laws”. He was arrested and expelled from the ruling Communist Party in 2014.

The court heard Ji Jianye had received huge amounts of money and gifts from a range of influential people and companies – including construction firms – in exchange for favorable deals and contracts.

As has become common practice, Ji Jianye’s case was heard in eastern Shandong, far from his home province and support base in Jiangsu.

President Xi Jinping launched his anti-corruption drive on coming into office in November 2012.

Xi Jinping warned that public anger over corruption threatened the survival of the Communist Party, and promised to pursue “tigers” – top-level officials – as well as “flies”.