Summary The charge of illegal business operation involves activities that totaled $30 billion.
BEIJING (AP) A businesswoman linked to the corruption case against China s former railway minister has been charged with bribery and illegal business activities, a state news agency reported Sunday.
Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun received a suspended death sentence in July in China s highest-profile corruption case in years. He was convicted of taking bribes and steering contracts to associates. A suspended death sentence is usually changed to life in prison.
Businesswoman Ding Shumiao is charged with intervening in bidding for railway projects, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing a statement by the Beijing prosecutor s office.
The charge of illegal business operation involves activities that totaled 180 billion yuan ($30 billion), Xinhua said. It gave no indication how much of that Ding received or other details of the case.
Liu was best known as the driving force behind China s bullet train network. The railways ministry is one of the largest entities in the world, with an investment budget last year of 630 billion yuan ($100 billion).
