Former Shanxi official sentenced to 15 years for graft

NANJING -- A former senior official in North China's Shanxi province was sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes amounting nearly 45 million yuan ($6.68 million) by a court in Jiangsu province on Wednesday.

Personal assets worth 4 million yuan belonging to Nie Chunyu, former secretary-general of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanxi Provincial Committee, were confiscated, according to a statement from Nantong City Intermediate People's Court.

His ill-gotten gains must be turned over to the state, the court ruled.

Nie was found guilty of taking advantage of his positions to seek profits for others in promotion of officials, job transfers or corporate development between 2004 and 2013, it said.

The court issued a lesser punishment as Nie admitted his crimes and voluntarily turned over his illicit gains.

Nie was ousted from the CPC in February 2015 after an internal probe found he had accepted bribes and committed adultery.