The former head of Shanghai's biggest soccer club and Formula
One circuit faces trial on embezzlement charges tomorrow in Anhui Province, according to the Website of
People's Daily.
Yu Zhifei, the former general manager of Shanghai Shenhua FC and
later Shanghai International Circuit Management Development Co, is
due to appear at Wuhu Intermediate People's Court at 3 PM,
according to the Website.
Yu was referred to prosecutors for criminal investigation after
the Communist Party of China's disciplinary authorities discovered
he took company money to pay for a house worth 1.05 million yuan
(US$140,000), among other illegal behavior during his tenure at
Shenhua.
Yu, the promoter and key organizing official for F1's Chinese
Grand Prix, was probed and expelled by the Party in May for his
involvement in Shanghai's pension fund scandal.
Yu was ordered to assist an investigation into the pension fund
scandal in October.
The pension-fund investigation implicated a dozen senior
government officials and corporate executives in the city. Former
Shanghai Communist Party secretary Chen Liangyu was dismissed over
the scandal in September.
He is now in custody and is likely to face criminal charges.
(Shanghai Daily August 15, 2007)