Corrupt Sichuan official allegedly took bribes from Zhou Bin

Further details emerged Thursday about a corrupt former official from Southwest China's Sichuan province, including his son's business dealings with an organization suspected of being an illegal front for a powerful businessman.

Guo Yongxiang, former chairman of Sichuan's provincial federation of literary and art circles, has been stripped of Communist Party of China (CPC) membership and expelled from public office for serious law and discipline violations, the CPC's anti-graft authority announced Wednesday.

A Central Commission for Discipline and Inspection investigation found that Guo had taken bribes himself or through the hands of his son Guo Lian-xing as well as seeking profits for his son's businesses. The Supreme People's Procuratorate announced on Wednesday that Guo Yongxiang has been placed under criminal investigation for alleged bribe-taking.

The Beijing News Thursday quoted an anonymous Sichuan political source as saying that Guo Lianxing had business cooperation in several companies with Mi Xiaodong, who was earlier reported as being the "white gloves," a phrase indicating the legal front of an illegal business, of Zhou Bin.

Zhou, 42, has a business empire that includes energy and property dealings. Media reports have alleged Zhou secretly built his empire through "powerful government connections" and was involved in several major corruption cases.

Similar business cooperation could also be found between Guo Lianxing and Zhan Minli, Zhou's mother-in-law. Zhan served as the lead shareholder of at least nine companies in Beijing, covering fields such as energy, property management and investment consulting, Caixin magazine reported in November 2013.

According to the report, Guo Lianxing was the legal representative of an energy company, while Zhan was its majority shareholder. The company was dissolved in June 2013, the same month Guo Yongxiang was detained.

Guo Lianxing and Mi's names also simultaneously appeared in several other cooperation documents as shareholder or legal representative.

The Beijing News revealed in February that Zhou acquired a key affordable housing program in Beijing through Mi, and transferred the project to professional real estate companies for profit. Mi was detained by a disciplinary organization in October 2013.

The registered address of a company in Beijing founded by Guo Lianxing in 2001 was found to be property of Wu Xuejun, an important "trader" to Sichuan businessman Wu Bing. Wu Bing is suspected to be another of Zhou Bin's "white gloves," according to The Beijing News, and he was detained in August 2013.

Zhou is also alleged to have business connections with Liu Han, a billionaire in Sichuan who currently stands trial in Hubei province under suspicion of running a mafia-style gang. Liu allegedly purchased projects from Zhou in 2002 at an above-market price in an effort to "maintain connections," The Beijing News reported.