Controversies

Ex-general manager Zhou Changgong, 14 years at the helm, gets life for over 52 million yuan in bribes

Zhou Changgong, former general manager of Hunan China Tobacco, was called the "first fallen tobacco official" and was investigated at the end of 2013. The court found that between 2001 and 2013 he used his position to seek benefits for others in tobacco raw material sales, project contracting and cadre promotions, accepting bribes equivalent to more than 52 million yuan, US$440,000 and HK$600,000. Hunan's tobacco system subsequently uncovered a "series of bribery crimes," and his successor also fell. In December 2015, Zhou Changgong was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of all personal property.