Wife of China’s fallen minister used shadow firms to wash dirty money, big data shows

China’s corruption inspectors used big data to identify dozens of companies controlled by the wife of a disgraced top minister and used to launder bribes, the latest state documentary on the 12-year clean-up drive has revealed.

Tang Yijun, a former justice minister, was charged with corruption and misconduct last year after being investigated for taking bribes and abuse of power.

According to the latest episode of an anti-corruption series aired by national broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday, 34 companies controlled by Tang’s wife, Xuan Minjie, were used as channels to receive and launder bribes,

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) – China’s top anti-corruption and political disciplinary body – has accused Tang and his wife of using multiple proxies to control these shadow companies, which had made the investigation “extremely challenging”, the episode aired on Tuesday night said.

In October, following a six-month investigation, the CCDI stripped Tang of his Communist Party membership and public office and handed him over to the judicial system for prosecution.