Wife, son of China's ex-security Czar jailed for graft

The wife and son of former powerful leader in China's ruling Communist party were jailed today for up to 18 years and fined for accepting bribes, a year after the ex-security Czar was sentenced to life for graft and abuse of power, state media reported.
Zhou Bin, son of former Politburo member Zhou Yongkang, was sentenced to 18 years for graft and indulging in illegal business operations by a court in central China's Hubei province which also clamped a hefty fine of 350.2 million yuan (USD 53 million). The court also ordered confiscation of all of his illegally obtained assets, state- run Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhou Yongkang's wife Jia Xiaoye will serve nine years for taking bribes. She was also fined one million yuan (USD 150,000), the court announced on its official microblogging site.
Zhou Bin and his father Zhou Yongkang sought benefits for others by taking advantage of Yongkang's posts, and accepted property to the value of 98 million yuan, the Yichang City Intermediate People's Court said in its verdict.
In collaboration with others, Zhou Bin used his father's influence to obtain advantages for others through other officials and accepted property to the amount of 124 million yuan. Zhou Bin violated the state regulations by doing business in restricted items, disturbing the market order, the verdict said.

Zhou Yongkang, who was considered security Czar in former Chinese president Hu Jintao's administration as he headed national security, was a member of the powerful nine-member Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) until he retired in 2012.
He and his supporters became the main target of the massive anti-corruption drive launched by President Xi Jinping who took over power in 2013 in which thousands of officials were punished.
In last June, Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes, abusing his power and deliberately disclosing state secrets.