JANUARY 3, 2008

Chinese GP executive jailed

Yu Zhifei has been sentenced to four years in jail for embezzlement. The former Shanghai city official was the general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit. He was found guilty of embezzling $144,000 in public funds in order to buy himself a house.

Yu Zhifei has been sentenced to four years in jail for embezzlement. The former Shanghai city official was the general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit. He was found guilty of embezzling $144,000 in public funds in order to buy himself a house. His light sentence was the result of a deal in which he admitted his crimes. Yu is one of several Shanghai officials to have been implicated in a scandal relating to the misuse of government pension funds. This resulted in the downfall of Chen Liangyu, the city's most powerful official. He is awaiting trial but has already been expelled from the Communist Party's powerful Politburo.