Chinese official sentenced to death for accepting $325M in bribes
What's the story
A former city official in China has been sentenced to death for accepting over CNY 2.2 billion ($325 million) in bribes over a period of 30 years. The court also found Yang Youlin guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering. His crimes are among the worst seen in recent years, state media reported.
Corruption details
Yang used his position to facilitate engineering contracts, land transfers
Youlin, 69, held various posts in Nanjing city from 1993 to 2023. He used his positions to facilitate engineering contracts, land transfers, and financing for others in return for money and valuables. The Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu province described Yang's crimes as "exceptionally grave" that caused massive losses.
Anti-graft efforts
Case was investigated under Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign
Youlin's case was investigated under President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Since taking office, Xi has launched several anti-corruption drives that have affected military ranks and high-level banking, among other sectors. Death sentences for white-collar crimes are rare in China but are sometimes given if the cases involve large sums exceeding CNY 1 billion.
Sentence
Court says offenses caused exceptionally heavy losses to state, people
Though Yang had provided assistance to the authorities, his offenses were so "grave" that his help "was insufficient to warrant a more lenient punishment," the Changzhou court said. The court also noted that he had committed offenses "of an extremely serious nature" and "caused exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the people."