China Indicts Former Politburo Member Ma Xingrui on Bribery Charges

China has indicted Ma Xingrui, a former member of the ruling Communist Party Politburo, on charges of taking bribes, the official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. Reuters reported the Xinhua announcement, and the Associated Press reported the same indictment with added detail from prosecutors in Yichang. The case is part of President Xi Jinping campaign to root out graft, Reuters reported.

Prosecutors accused Ma of using his positions and status as a government official and as general manager of the state owned contractor for China space programme to seek benefits and accept particularly large amounts of bribes, Reuters reported. Prosecutors in Yichang, a city in the central province of Hubei, accused Ma of using his leadership positions to accept exceptionally large bribes and to secure benefits for others, Xinhua said, according to the Associated Press report. The charges are allegations by prosecutors. No verdict has been reported.

A fall that became public in April

Ma was named to the Politburo in 2022. His downfall became public in April, when authorities said he was being investigated for severe violations of party discipline and national laws, without giving details, the Associated Press reported. Ma, 67, was ordered arrested earlier and his case has been moved to a procuratorate in Hubei province, and the Supreme People Procuratorate filed the indictment, according to state media reporting carried by Anadolu Agency.

His expulsion from the Communist Party on graft charges was confirmed last week in a communique from the party fifth plenum, Reuters reported. Ma was among 33 officials listed as expelled, including former senior military leader Zhang Youxia, former senior diplomat Liu Jianchao and former industry minister Jin Zhuanglong, Reuters reported.

No response from Ma

There was no immediate response to Reuters attempts, by email and fax, to seek comment from Ma. The reports do not state when a court will hear the case, and they do not put a figure on the bribes prosecutors allege. What is established is the sequence the state outlets and the two wire reports agree on: a Politburo appointment in 2022, an investigation disclosed in April, an expulsion confirmed at the fifth plenum, and now a formal indictment on bribery charges in Hubei.