China expels former Politburo member Ma Xingrui from Communist Party after graft probe

Former Politburo member and Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui has been removed from the party and dismissed from public office following an anti-corruption investigation, the state broadcaster said on Tuesday (Jul 14).

Ma, 67, became the third member of the Politburo - the ruling party’s elite political body - to come under investigation in the current term that began in 2022, a situation unseen in decades.

The Politburo reviewed and approved the report on Ma’s cases by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the ruling party’s top disciplinary and anti-corruption body, on Jun 30, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.

Ma was found to have “lost his ideals and beliefs”, abandoned “his political conviction”, “betrayed the party’s principles and original mission” and “seriously violated (the party’s) political discipline and rules”, the Xinhua report said.

China announced the investigation into Ma in April.

The CCDI also accused him of “improperly accepting gifts and money, helping relatives purchase houses at low prices” and engaging in “power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions”.

Ma also condoned his relatives using his influence to seek huge profits, “fostering rampant corruption across his family”, it said.

“He distorted public power (entrusted to him) into a tool for personal gain, using his position to seek benefits for others in business operations, project contracting and job promotions”, the Xinhua statement said.

It added that Ma, via family members or associates, had been “illegally accepting huge amounts of money and property”.

He was also found guilty of “neglecting to supervise and manage the serious violations of (party) discipline and law and suspected crimes committed by his staff”, resulting in severe consequences.

According to the CCDI’s charges, Ma was also found to have intervened with personnel decisions, “seeking benefits for others in cadre selection and appointment, and improperly arranging jobs for others, personally and through relatives”.

Ma also did not truthfully confess his corruption problems during the party’s initial inquiries, the CCDI said, adding that his behaviour continued after the 18th Party Congress, when President Xi Jinping announced his sweeping anti-corruption campaign and strict official conduct rules.

Ma’s conduct was “extremely serious in nature and (he was) an extremely bad influence”, the CCDI’s report said. His illegal gains would be confiscated and he will be handed over to the judiciary to face trial, it added.

This article was first published on SCMP.