China indicts ex-Politburo member Ma Xingrui for bribery

BEIJING, Nov ‌5 (Reuters) - China ​has ​indicted Ma Xingrui, a former member of the ruling ‌Communist Party's Politburo, on charges of ⁠taking bribes, official news agency Xinhua ‌said on Thursday, as ‌President Xi Jinping steps up his campaign to root out graft.

Prosecutors ​accused Ma of using his positions and status as a ⁠government official and as general manager of the state-owned ​contractor for China's space programme to "seek benefits" and accept "particularly large ​amounts" of bribes.

His expulsion ‌from the Communist Party on graft charges was confirmed ⁠last week in a communique from the party's fifth plenum.

Ma was among ⁠33 officials listed as expelled, including former ​senior military leader Zhang Youxia, former senior diplomat Liu Jianchao and former industry minister Jin ‌Zhuanglong.

There was no immediate response to Reuters attempts, by ‌email and fax, to seek ⁠comment from Ma.

(Reporting ‌by Liz ​Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Clarence ‌Fernandez)

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