Deng Zhan, a former official in the Ministry of Commerce, is likely to face legal charges after having been in custody several months for allegedly accepting bribes.

Deng, 61, former deputy administrator of foreign investment at the Ministry of Commerce, was put under "double designation" status in September. This allows the Party as well as the public courts to discipline an individual.

Deng's arrest may be linked to Guo Jingyi, a former official at the Department of Treaty and Law at the Ministry of Commerce, who was detained in August for corruption and bribery, according to the 21st Century Business Herald.

After graduating from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, Deng entered the Ministry of Commerce where he specialized in foreign investment in 1982. He was appointed vice director of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment in 2007.

The focus of Deng's work at the ministry involved drafting laws and regulations for foreign investment, and it is through this that Deng's case connects to Guo. While Deng served at the Department of Foreign Investment, he had frequent contact with two Beijing-based attorneys, Zhang Yudong and Liu Yang, both of whom were arrested with Guo Jingyi in August, the report said. Zhang is likely to be charged with offering bribes, according to the report.

According to lawyers familiar with Sifeng, a law firm where Zhang and Liu practiced, its main business is to obtain regulatory approval for acquisition filings from foreign investors.

This kind of approval must go through several agencies, of which the Ministry of Commerce is the most important. Critical decisions are made in its two departments, the Department of Foreign Investment and the Department of Treaty and Law. Deng and Guo both served in key positions at these departments, the report said.

The cases of Guo, Deng, Zhang and Liu will be handled by courts in other cities. The same procedure will be followed with two other officials: Liu Wei, vice director of Registration Bureau of Foreign-Invested Enterprises under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and Du Baozhong, director of the Department of Treaty and Law under the Ministry of Commerce.

(Shanghai Daily December 5, 2008)