The former general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit, Yu Zhifei, has been sentenced to four years in jail for embezzlement, the country’s state media has announced.

He was found guilty of embezzling nearly US$140,000 and fined US$41,000 on top of his prison sentence.

Yu, a former government official, was credited with helping bring Formula 1 to China and was in charge of the SIC when the sport made its debut in Shanghai in 2004.

Yu was given the sentence by the Intermediate People’s Court in the city of Wuhu, west of Shanghai, following an investigation related to his time in charge of Shanghai Shenhua football club between 1997 and 1999.

His case is seen as part of a wider crackdown on misuse of government pension funds that is reported to involve more than 20 officials including Chen Liangyu, once Shanghai’s most powerful figure, who is currently in custody awaiting trial.

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