Beijing (AFP)
The former boss of the Chinese group Kweichow Moutai, the world's number one spirits company in terms of valuation, was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting 15 million euros in bribes, according to a court.
The company is known in China for producing Moutai (or "Maotai"), a white alcohol type brandy ("baijiu"), obtained by distillation of sorghum and which is one of the most famous and expensive. from the country.
The former chairman of the group, Yuan Renguo, 64, accepted money and goods for a total of 112.9 million yuan (14.88 million euros) between 1994 and 2018, said Thursday a court of the city of Guiyang (southern China), in the province of Guizhou where the group is based.
Already expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2019, the year of his arrest, he was also deprived of his political rights and his property confiscated.
"Defendant Yuan Renguo is sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes," the court said in a statement.
The ex-boss was tried at the end of 2019 during a trial where he admitted his guilt and repented, official media said.
Yuan Renguo is the latest business figure to fall as part of the anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he took over as head of the CCP in late 2012.
Baijiu is the most consumed category of alcohol in the world, especially because of the huge population of China (1.4 billion people), its main market.
It is almost always offered during banquets, wedding dinners and business dinners.
Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign severely hampered Moutai's sales, as these high-end liquor bottles were often given as gifts to executives to curry favor or even bribe them.
© 2021 AFP