Disgraced Bo Xilai to face trial on criminal charges

Disgraced Chinese Communist Party official, Bo Xilai, could be facing trial on criminal charges within weeks.

The trial is likely to be conducted in Shandong Province in eastern China, The New York Times reported, citing to two people with knowledge of the case. Bo was sacked from his senior post as party chief of Chongqing, a municipality of 30 million in southwest China, in March 2012 and was later ousted from the Communist Party and its elite 25-member Politburo (See: Disgraced Chinese politician, Bo Xilai's wife to face charges of murder).

The official Chinese state media has yet to announce formal criminal charges against Bo. Under Chinese law, charges are required to be served to the defendant and any legal representatives at least 10 days ahead of the start of the first trial session.

Officials from Shandong, involved in trial preparation have been in Chongqing recently to discuss details with Chongqing officials, the report said citing a person in the city in contact with officials. However, given the numerous twists in the Bo case, and the vagaries of elite party politics there may be changes to scheduling or venue.

According to an associate of the Bo family who had been informed about the case the trial could get under way in early August. Bo, 64, would likely face charges of taking bribes and favours worth up to millions of dollars.

No timeframe for the trial has been given and according to officials with knowledge of the briefings, cited by South China Post, the trial would  come in the "short term" and would be held in Jinan the provincial capital of  Shandong.

According to him Bo was accused of receiving more than 20 million yuan in bribes and embezzling another five million yuan.

Bo has not made a public appearance since March last year, after he was axed from his post due to intrigue surrounding his police chief's flight to the US consulate and the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.

As a former Politburo member, Bo was one of the prominent figures of the party's conservative wing and his downfall thrust the party into one of its worst political crises in decades.