Gou Zhongwen accepted bribes.
Gou Zhongwen admitted his guilt. Stock photo. PDO
Former Minister of Sports of China Gou Zhongwen has received a suspended death sentence in his home country.
The news agency reported on the matter, among others Xinhuaaccording to which the death sentence will take effect if Gou commits new crimes within the next two years. It is therefore possible that the death sentence will be converted into a life sentence.
Gou was convicted of bribery and abuse of power. Gou is said to have taken bribes for more than 236 million yuan (about 28.7 million euros). The crimes took place between 2009 and 2024.
Gou worked as China’s Minister of Sports from 2016 to 2022, i.e. also at the time of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In addition, he worked as the deputy mayor of Beijing in 2012–2013. According to the court, at that time Gou misused his power in the procurement processes of public projects, which resulted in significant losses for the state.
According to Xinhua, Gou pleaded guilty to the crimes.