Former senior political adviser prosecuted for bribery, abuse of power

Gou Zhongwen, a former senior political adviser and also ex-head of the General Administration of Sport of China, has been prosecuted for suspected bribery and abuse of power, China's top procuratorate said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, have recently filed the prosecution with the Yancheng Intermediate People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate added in a statement.

The Yancheng prosecutors noted that they found that Gou took advantage of his various positions, including vice-mayor of Beijing and head of the General Administration of Sport, to seek benefits for others, and then accepted huge amounts of bribes in return.

Meanwhile, Gou was also discovered to have abused his power, causing big losses of public assets and bringing damages to the national and people's interests, the prosecutors said.

They noted that Gou should be held criminally liable for bribery and abuse of power.

Public information shows that Gou, 67, a native of Gansu province, started working in 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1976.

He became vice-mayor of Beijing in 2008 and served as the head of China's General Administration of Sport from 2016 to July 2022. During his term at the administration, he also served as executive chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, concurrently serving as chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Later, he worked for the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory, serving as deputy head of the CPPCC National Committee's Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs.

In May 2024, he was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of the Party disciplines and national laws. At the end of last year, he was expelled from the Party and removed from public office.