China officially charges Zhou Yongkang with corruption

The Supreme People's Procuratorate of China said the charges against Zhou Yongkang were "particularly serious."

According to Xinhua News Agency, the above charges were brought against Zhou Yongkang by the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China on April 3. The case file against Zhou Yongkang has been transferred to the Tianjin Municipal Court of First Instance, China.

Mr. Zhou Yongkang when he was in office (Photo: Reuters)

The Supreme People's Procuratorate of China said the charges against Zhou Yongkang were "particularly serious" and that he had accepted "huge bribes."

The indictment of the Procuratorate clearly stated: “Defendant Zhou Yongkang took advantage of his position to illegally accept bribes and appropriate other people's property, causing loss of state property and harming the interests of the nation and the people.”

"These wrongdoings seriously affect social life," according to the indictment.

Although the official trial date for Zhou Yongkang has not been announced, China has announced that he will be tried publicly.

According to Reuters, the trial of Zhou Yongkang took place in the context of Beijing repeatedly declaring that it would take strong action against even high-ranking officials if they were corrupt.

Zhou Yongkang, 72, is the highest-ranking official to be investigated for corruption in Chinese President Xi Jinping's "Fighting Tigers, Hunting Foxes and Killing Flies" campaign.

Before being forced to resign due to corruption investigation and expelled from the Party in 2012, Mr. Zhou Yongkang was a member of the Politburo and Minister of Public Security of China./.

According to VOV