Former head of China Geological Survey, Zhong Ziran, has been arrested on charges of bribery and leaking State secrets, as announced by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Tuesday.
The investigation, conducted by the National Commission of Supervision, has concluded, and Zhong’s case has been forwarded to prosecuting authorities for further review and legal proceedings.
Zhong, aged 61 and originally from Anhui province, began his career in 1983 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1985.
He held various roles in geological and mineral departments before becoming the director and Party secretary of the China Geological Survey in July 2014, a position he held until September 2022.
In January this year, Zhong was placed under investigation, marking him as the first senior official under the purview of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee to face such scrutiny this year.
He was expelled from the Party in the previous month.
According to China’s Criminal Law, individuals who intentionally or negligently disclose State secrets can face imprisonment of up to three years or short-term detention for serious cases.
For particularly grave offenses, the sentence can range from three to seven years of fixed-term imprisonment.
In a separate case last July, Sun Guofeng, former head of the monetary policy department at the People’s Bank of China, was convicted on charges of bribery, intentional disclosure of State secrets, and insider trading.
He received a prison sentence of 16 and a half years and was fined 13.1 million yuan ($1.8 million).
