Shanghai business executive indicted over bribery, embezzlement

Wang Zongnan, formerly a senior business executive with several major Shanghai companies, has been charged with crimes of taking bribes and embezzling public funds.

Prosecutors in Shanghai have concluded their investigation and filed the charges with the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, according to a statement by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Wednesday.

Prosecutors believe that when Wang was general manager of Shanghai Friendship Group and chairman of Lianhua Supermarkets, he took advantage of his position to seek profits for others and accepted bribes worth over 2.69 million yuan (438,000 US dollars).

He was also found to have colluded with others to embezzle public funds of about 190 million yuan.

Wang has been chairman of Bright Food, one of China's biggest food corporations, and president of Bailian Group, a major retailer.