China indicts former Politburo member Ma Xingrui on bribery charges

Chinese prosecutors indicted former Politburo member Ma Xingrui on bribery charges on Thursday, state media reported.

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate said Ma, 67, was indicted on charges of accepting bribes. The procuratorate had ordered his arrest, Anadolu Agency reported.

The case has been transferred to the People’s Procuratorate of Yichang, in central Hubei province, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ma had served on the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo since 2022. He was among 33 officials ousted by the party last month.

He previously served as deputy head of the Leading Group for Rural Affairs of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.

According to the indictment, Ma is accused of “taking advantage of a series of his previous positions and the favorable conditions arising from his authority or position to seek benefits for others and illegally accept extremely large amounts of money and valuables in return.”

The ruling party announced an investigation into Ma in July.