June 7, 2012
Translated by Tang Xiangyang

The general manager of the China Railway Construction Electrification Bureau Group Co. Ltd (CRCEBGC) was detained by authorities about a week ago according to a report in today's 21st Century Business Herald, which quotes anonymous inside sources.

The report says that Liu Zhiyuan's (劉志遠) case is thought to be related to that of China's former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun (劉志軍), who was officially expelled from the Communist Party last week after internal investigators found that he was corrupt.

As Liu Zhijun's case was officially transferred to judicial authorities last Monday, many had assumed that the investigation into related railway corruption had been completed. The detention of Liu Zhiyuan therefore came as a surprise to some.

Sources close to the CRCEBGC revealed to the 21CBH that Liu Zhiyuan had been informed on by an executive at a  CRCEBGC subsidiary who was himself under investigation for receiving bribes.

Liu Zhiyuan is said to have received bribes too.

Despite news of him being detained, Liu Zhiyuan’s photo can still can be found on the website of CRCEBGC.

The 58-year old Liu has served as the general manager of CRCEBGC since 2001. Despite having a reputation for being "capable and honorable," it was also said that Liu Zhiyuan maintained a very good relationship with Liu Zhijun.

Though they share the same surname, the two men are not related.

Founded in 1958, CRCEBGC has focused its business on providing electronic equipment, communications, signaling and power for railway projects.

The company was awarded a lot of contracts during Liu Zhijun term as railways minister.

Aside from their main business, CRCEBGC was also awarded many civil engineering, building construction and industrial manufacturing projects.

“Especially in the field of civil engineering, CRCEBGC always got the big projects thanks to its qualifications and position. It would than subcontract these projects to private contractors and earn huge profits," an inside source told the 21st Century Business Herald.

The report also notes that CRCEBGC was involved in projects to construct noise barriers for high-speed railway lines and that the company had once cooperated with Ding Shumiao, a businesswoman from Shanxi Province who has been caught up in the corruption probe involving the former minister.

Links and Sources
21st Century Business Herald: 劉志軍案再起波瀾 中鐵電氣化局老總落馬