Dong Yunhu, a former senior legislator in Shanghai, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for receiving bribes.

Dong, former secretary of the leading Party members' group of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and former chairman of the committee, was also deprived of his political rights for life. His personal property will be confiscated, and his illegal gains from bribes will be turned over to the State treasury, the Hefei Intermediate People's Court in Anhui province said.

The court found that Dong had taken undue advantage of his various posts to provide assistance to various organizations and individuals in matters such as financing and loans, land transfers, business operations and personnel arrangements. In return, he illegally accepted money and valuables worth more than 148 million yuan ($20.8 million).

The court said Dong had been cooperative in the investigation and in returning the illegal gains, which had been recovered in full. That was taken into consideration when handing down the sentence.

Separately, Du Zhaocai, a former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport and former Party secretary of the Chinese Football Association, pleaded guilty at the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court in Hubei province on Wednesday to accepting bribes totaling over 43 million yuan.

Du, 64, admitted to his crimes and made a final statement in court. Sentencing will be announced at a later date, the court said.

Prosecutors accused Du of using his various positions — including as director of the administration's track and field sports management center, member of the administration's leading Party members group, assistant director and deputy director of the administration, and Party secretary and vice-president of the Chinese Football Association — to provide assistance to units and individuals in matters such as event organization, personnel arrangements and player transfers.

In return, Du accepted more than 43.41 million yuan in cash and properties, either directly or through relatives and associates.

Prosecutors called for Du to be held criminally responsible for his actions. Over 20 people, including national lawmakers, political advisers and journalists, attended the trial.

Du was placed under investigation in April last year, and was expelled from the Communist Party of China, removed from his posts, and arrested in October. His prosecution was initiated in Wuhan in January.

China's anti-corruption efforts in the sports sector have intensified since 2022, starting with an investigation into Li Tie, the former head coach of the Chinese men's soccer team. Several senior officials have since been investigated and sentenced, including Chen Xuyuan, a former CFA president, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in March, and Yu Hongchen, a former president of the Chinese Athletics Association, who received a 13-year prison term the same month.

In the past week, courts in Hubei have sentenced several former soccer officials as part of the ongoing anti-graft campaign in the sports sector. Former CFA vice-chairman Li Yuyi was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and a former head of the CFA's competition department, Huang Song, received a seven-year jail term. The courts also heard cases involving four other former soccer officials, including Liu Yi, a former secretary-general of the CFA, and Tan Hai, a former director of the CFA's referee management department.