Nine senior officials at China's biggest liquor maker have been handed over to prosecutors on charges of corruption and bribery, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

Wang Xiaojin, former chairman of Anhui Gujing Group Co, has been expelled from the National People's Congress, the report said.

Illicit money involved in the case ranged from 300,000 yuan (US$40,214) to five million yuan, the report said.

Guo Xinmin, deputy manager of the sales department of Gujing Distillery Co, allegedly received more than five million yuan in bribes and Zhu Renwang, former general manager of the department, received a total of two million yuan from more than 30 clients, Bozhou prosecutors said.

Vice president Li Yunjie received more than two million yuan, the prosecutors said.

Other involved officials are Ruan Kunhua, Gan Shaoyu and Li Wanlin, the prosecutors said.

Wang and his wife were taken from their home by the Party's disciplinary personnel in April. Previous reports said that investigation into Wang was launched by the Central Disciplinary Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee while it was probing the affairs of Anhui's Shuanglun Group, a state-owned liquor maker about 100 kilometers from Bozhou City, which hosts Gujing Group.

Wang's case was also connected to the probe of Wang Huaizhong, the former Anhui provincial vice governor and Wang Zhaoyao, the former vice Party secretary of Anhui Province.

Gujing Group, producer of one of China's top-five liquor brands, owns a 62.6 percent stake in the Shenzhen-listed Anhui Gujing Distillery Co.

The company's shares dropped 3.49 percent to 19.90 yuan on the Shenzhen market at 2:07 PM today.

Gujing saw sales revenue in its liquor segment grow eight percent to 1.2 billion yuan last year, according to the company.

It also accounts for about a 15 percent of market share nationwide.

(Shanghai Daily November 2, 2007)