The former vice president of Chinese Football Association (CFA) Wang Dengfeng was sentenced to 17 years in prison for embezzlement and bribery, a new blow in the anti-corruption campaign launched against the country’s football authorities, the official newspaper ‘China Daily’ reported on Tuesday.
Wang must also pay a fine of 5 million yuan (648,000 euros) after taking advantage of his positions at the CFA and the Ministry of Education – where he is director of the Department of Physical, Health and Artistic Education – to gain favors.
According to the court, Wang used his position at the Ministry to earn more than 44.9 million yuan (5.8 million euros) in public funds, and the vice president of the CFA to help associates obtain contracts for projects and event. . In return, he received about 9.66 million yuan (1.2 million euros) in property.
Wang, on whom the investigation began in August 2022 and was arrested in February 2023, confessed to the crimes and returned the funds and property he embezzled, for which he received a lighter sentence, notes ‘China Daily’.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have stopped or initiated investigations against the president of the Soccer Super League, the deputy director of the General Administration of Sports and even against Li Tie, a former national team coach and former Chinese soccer player. star who once played for English Everton. Li, about whom these investigations were discovered at the end of 2022, has been accused of corruption crimes, including bribery.
More control from the new presidency
Last October, the CFA elected Song Kai as its new president, who, due to corruption charges plaguing the institution – including its president between 2019 and 2023, Chen Xuyuan, who faces trial for accepting of more than 11 million dollars in bribes, among other charges – promised to make it “more open and transparent.”
After coming to power in 2012, the current general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country’s president, Xi Jinping, began an anti-corruption campaign in which several high-ranking Chinese officials were convicted of accepting millions dollar bribe. .
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
