By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state prosecutor on Friday formally charged a former senior aide to retired president Hu Jintao with taking bribes, illegally obtaining state secrets and abuse of power.
The ruling Communist Party announced an investigation into Ling Jihua in December 2014. He had been demoted in September, 2012 from a ministerial-level job months after his son was killed in a crash involving a luxury sports car.
The charges are the latest development in a case that the party has said did major damage to its image.
Ling used his many high-ranking positions in government as a way to solicit bribes, seek favors for friends and illegally obtain state secrets, the prosecutor said, without specifying the nature of the secrets.
The circumstances were "extremely serious", the prosecutor added in a terse statement, which was also read out on state television.
Ling's case was lodged at a court in the port city of Tianjin, not far from Beijing, meaning he will be tried there.
It has not been possible to reach Ling for comment and it is not clear if he has been allowed to retain a lawyer.
Ling's case has presented a dilemma for the government. His position is sensitive because of his close connection with former president Hu, President Xi Jinping's predecessor.
A government spokesman denied last year that Hu was being implicated in the investigation and sources have told Reuters that Hu approved of it.
The formal charges pave the way for a criminal trial, but because Ling is accused of stealing state secrets, the proceedings may be closed to the public.
It is also unclear when a trial may happen. If it is held in secret, state media could simply announce a verdict.
The government said last July it would prosecute Ling, and that he had been expelled from the Communist Party.
A brother, Ling Zhengce, is also a subject of a corruption investigation. Media have reported other family members have been detained.
Another brother, Ling Wancheng, is in the United States, and China in January acknowledged it was communicating with the United States about him.
In February, Ling Wancheng denied through his U.S. attorney that he handed over state secrets, including launch codes for nuclear weapons, to U.S. authorities.
Since taking power in 2012, Xi has made tackling corruption a cornerstone of his administration, waging a far-reaching campaign that has felled many opponents, including the once-powerful domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang. Zhou was also tried in Tianjin.
Courts in China are controlled by the Communist Party.