Senior CCTV producer investigated for bribe-taking

Source:Global Times Published: 2014-6-3 1:08:02

Guo Zhenxi, director of China Central Television (CCTV) finance and economics channel and former advertising director, is being investigated under suspicion of bribery, China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced on Sunday.  

Guo has been put into "compulsory measures," which can range from bail to detention.   

Guo has been in charge of CCTV's annual March 15 Gala, which it held every year on World Consumer Rights Day, since 1991. In recent years, it started to target large enterprises, including Apple and Nikon.

There has been speculation that Guo used the gala to target certain companies and take money from the trade.

Guo became the director of CCTV's advertising department in 2001. He was later promoted as director of the advertising and financial information center as well as director of the finance and economics channel in 2005 and served across news reporting and operation positions since then.

Advertising shares grew rapidly under Guo's leadership since 2001. It saw a skyrocketing bidding income for four years, and CCTV earned a record 8 billion yuan ($1.28 billion) in advertising revenue in 2004.

In December last year, when Li Dongsheng, former vice minister of public security and former CCTV deputy director, was probed for disciplinary violations, there was speculation that Guo was under investigation as well, according to caixin.com.

But Guo appeared normally at the March 15 Gala in 2014.

According to the Beijing Times, the day before Guo was taken away, he appeared in the main hall of the old CCTV building.

Zhang Zhi'an, a professor of the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-sen University, told caixin.com that it is highly risky to appoint someone as the person in charge of advertising department as well as executive director of a financial news channel, which could create huge rent-seeking space and management loopholes.

Tian Liwu, a producer of the same channel, was also put under investigation, the SPP said.

Global Times



Posted in: Society, Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus