Former deputy secretary-general of Shanghai sentenced to 9 years in jail for graft

Dai Haibo, former deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai government, was sentenced today to nine years in jail for taking bribes and concealing overseas deposits.

He was also fined 2 million yuan (US$293,427) by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court.

The illicit money has been confiscated, the court said.

Dai, 54, accepted more than 9.9 million yuan in bribes between 1998 and 2015 when he was the general manager of the state-owned Zhangjiang Group, deputy director of the Pudong New Area and director of the Shanghai Economic and Information Commission.

In April 2001, Dai opened personal banking accounts for trading in stocks and funds with Citibank Hong Kong and did not report to the government. By March 2015, he had about HK$380,900 (US$48,884) in deposits, and stocks and funds worth about HK$1.58 million, all adding up to 1.58 million yuan.

Prosecutors said Dai’s family returned 76 million yuan he made from his illegal business.

The court was lenient with Dai because he surrendered himself to police and returned or compensated for the illegal dealings.

Dai was the executive deputy director of the administrative committee of the Shanghai free trade zone between September 2013 and September 2014.