A Corruption Case Laden With Jade
By DAN LEVIN DECEMBER 15, 2014 8:06 AM
Ni Fake, a former vice governor of Anhui Province in eastern China, enjoyed being a government official. But what he apparently loved most was jade.
On Monday, as Mr. Ni went on trial in connection with holding property from unidentified sources and accepting bribes, the Dongying Intermediate Peoples Court in the eastern province of Shandong published photographic evidence of his reported crimes: jade bangles and pendants, ornaments and carved stones.
Jade accounted for over 80 percent of the more than 13 million renminbi, or $2 million, Mr. Ni took in bribes, with the remainder paid in cash or bestowed as paintings, according to the Communist Partys anticorruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Mr. Ni was also indicted for owning nearly $1 million in property, an amount that prosecutors noted far exceeded his official income.
At a time when President Xi Jinping of China is pushing forward with a campaign against official corruption in an effort to renew public confidence in the party, the authorities are trying to show that no official is too powerful to avoid facing justice. Mr. Ni is the third provincial-level official to be investigated since Mr. Xi came to power in 2012. His trial comes a week after the arrest of a former member of the partys Politburo Standing Committee, Zhou Yongkang, the highest-level official to fall in connection with corruption allegations.
While corrupt Chinese officials generally take care to hide any ill-gained lucre, investigators say that Mr. Ni made the mistake of turning corruption into a well-known obsession. He always wore a jade necklace, they say, and carried a small flashlight and magnifying glass in case he came upon jade worthy of his vast collection.
On weekends, he would spread out his favorite jade pieces and look at them one by one, said the state-run China News website, which reported details of the commissions findings on Monday. Every other week, he would wax his jades. When he goes on work trips, no matter how busy he is, hell carve out time to visit the local mall/jade market.
As Mr. Ni ascended the political ranks in Anhui, he was said to have swiftly taken advantage of the unseemly benefits that often come with political influence in China. Soon after becoming a vice governor in charge of land management and resources in 2008, he was said to have seen his sway over development projects translated into jade-laden riches, as executives from nine companies won his approval with illegal gifts on 49 occasions. To cement his ties to the jade trade, he became the honorary president of the Anhui Provincial Jewelry Association without consent from his office. Investigators say one businessman began bribing Mr. Ni with jade in exchange for mining rights and land after the official complimented a jade ornament dangling from his belt.
Chinas jade trade is worth about $5 billion a year, according to the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China, with much of the jade imported from neighboring Myanmar. Long prized in China for its beauty and auspicious power, the stone is also more convenient for corrupt officials to launder than cash. It is valuable and tasteful, and far more secure and meaningful than other forms of wealth, reported Seeking Truth, a Communist Party journal.
The anti-corruption commission began an investigation of Mr. Ni in June 2013, after he was said to have evaded investigators a year earlier by returning part of his jade collection to the businessman who had given it to him, only to take it back when he thought he was safe, according to a commission report.
Mr. Ni is said to have confessed and is awaiting sentencing. But the fate of his jade collection remains a mystery. In theory, confiscated items are auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the government. But some critics worry that the money could once again flow into the pockets of corrupt officials.
There are a lot of problems in this area right now, said Wei Liangyue, a criminal defense lawyer. Ive heard fellow lawyers talk about how some of the confiscated items were lost after trial.
Chen Jiehao contributed research.
