Ex-China Construction Bank head jailed for 15 years

BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) The former head of China Construction Bank Corp., Zhang Enzhao, was jailed today for 15 years after pleading guilty to taking bribes to arrange loans, his lawyer said.

The verdict was handed down by a court in Beijing, the latest in a long string of graft cases that have embroiled Chinese lenders due to the cosy ties that have linked bankers, businessmen and government officials.

Zhang abruptly resigned in June 2005 as chairman of Construction Bank, which in October last year became the first of China's big four state-owned lenders to sell shares to the public abroad. Its Hong Kong listing raised 9.2 billion dollars.

Prosecutors accused Zhang of accepting 4.18 million yuan in bribes.

In a court appearance in September, he pleaded guilty but said the amount involved was smaller, the Beijing News reported at the time.

Lawyer Gao Zicheng told Reuters Zhang would serve his sentence at Qincheng prison, a jail outside the capital effectively reserved for political prisoners.

The Gang of Four, led by Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing, were imprisoned at Qincheng after being found guilty of responsibility for deaths and excesses during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.

Reuters SHB DB0940