03/01/2008
NEWS STORY
Yu Zhifei, former general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit, has been jailed for four years for corruption, according to reports in the Chinese media.
Zhifei was fired from his job in May 2007 having been "assisting police" since late 2006 as they investigated the alleged misuse of the city's multi-billion dollar pension fund. At the time, it was said that Zhifei had been sacked for using company money to pay for a house and "other illegal behaviour". In addition, he was expelled from the Communist Party along with two other senior officials.
According to reports coming out of China this morning, he has been given four years after being found guilty of embezzling more than £70,000 during the late 1990s while he was head of Shanghai's Shenhua Football Club.
Zhifei was instrumental in developing the state-of-the-art circuit at Shanghai, and was a leading light in the organization of the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix in 2004. However, he came to the attention of investigators in 2006 as they probed wide spread corruption.
It is understood that Zhifei will appeal his conviction.