Arya News - China`s top procuratorate ordered the arrest of former Guangdong Governor and Shenzhen Party Chief Ma on suspicion of taking exceptionally large bribes while holding high-level state and party roles.
BEIJING – Ma Xingrui, a former member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has been indicted on charges of accepting bribes, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said on Thursday.
Prosecutors in Yichang, Hubei province, recently filed the case with the Yichang Intermediate People’s Court following an investigation by the National Commission of Supervision.
The top procuratorate ordered Ma’s arrest on suspicion of accepting bribes and designated the Yichang People’s Procuratorate to handle the prosecution.
Prosecutors alleged that Ma had abused his positions, including senior posts at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, deputy Party secretary and governor of Guangdong province, Party secretary of Shenzhen, and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, as well as the influence derived from his authority and status, to seek benefits for others in exchange for bribes of an exceptionally large amount.
Prosecutors said Ma should be held criminally responsible for accepting bribes. During the review for prosecution, they informed him of his legal rights, questioned him and heard the opinions of his defense counsel.
Ma, 67, a native of Shandong province, joined the CPC in January 1988 and began his career in March that year. With a background in aerospace engineering, Ma held a series of senior positions in the sector. He previously served as vice-president of Harbin Institute of Technology and held senior posts at the China Academy of Space Technology and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation between 1996 and 2013.
In 2013, he took on senior government positions, including vice-minister of industry and information technology, administrator of the China National Space Administration, director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, and director of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
He later moved into provincial leadership roles in Guangdong in November 2013, serving as head of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee’s Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, Party secretary of Shenzhen and governor of Guangdong.
Ma was appointed Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in late 2021. After stepping down from the position in July 2025, he served as deputy head of the Leading Group for Rural Affairs of the CPC Central Committee.
Ma was placed under investigation in April 2026 for suspected serious violations of Party discipline and national laws. He was expelled from the CPC and dismissed from public office in July.
In a statement issued at the time, anti-corruption authorities said Ma had seriously violated Party discipline and failed to fulfill his responsibilities for enforcing strict Party governance. They said he had turned a blind eye to serious misconduct and suspected crimes involving members of his staff.
He was also found to have concealed information during organizational inquiries, abused his influence in personnel appointments and improperly arranged jobs for others through relatives and friends.
The authorities said Ma had helped relatives buy properties at below-market prices, engaged in improper exchanges involving sex, power and money, and allowed family members to exploit his influence for substantial financial gains.
The fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which concluded on Oct 29, reviewed and adopted the report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Ma’s serious violations of Party discipline and national laws, confirming the Politburo’s earlier decision to expel him from the Party.