Court Sends Former Head of China’s Car Manufacturer Behind Bars for Bribery

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A Chinese court has sentenced the former politician and chairman of one of the country’s largest state-owned automakers to 11.5 years for graft,state mediasaidThursday, the latest high-profile target in President Xi Jinping's sweeping crackdown on corruption.

The court in Beijing found that Xu Jianyi, the former chairman and party secretary of China FAW Group Corp., took advantage of his various positions to help others gain business contracts and promotions, and accepted bribes worth 12.2 million yuan ($US 1.8 million), Xinhua News Agency said.

The court gave a "lighter punishment" to Xu — who is also the former Communist Party Secretary of the northeastern province of Jilin —because he confessed to his crimes and voluntarily turned over his illegal gains.