Illegal gains can be seized even after death

The Jiangsu Provincial People's Procuratorate released details of the country's first case involving the confiscation of illegal gains from a senior official who died while under investigation.

The late official, Ren Runhou, was vice-governor of Shanxi province. In September 2014, he was dismissed by the Communist Party of China for serious violations of discipline and died of an illness 10 days later.

Under the appointment of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Jiangsu procuratorate launched an investigation. It sorted through 278 bank accounts, freezing more than 23 million yuan ($3.3 million) in deposits and 3.1 million yuan in cash. Prosecutors also seized 155 valuable items and foreign currency deposits and interviewed 160 witnesses as they searched for confirmation of the amount of money Ren had gained illegally.