A former economic development official in the eastern city called Nanjing was on Monday sentenced to death for taking bribes worth around $325 million over a period of three decades.
The official, Yang Youlin, was convicted of embezzlement as well, along with misappropriation of public funds, offering bribes, misusing his government office, and also money laundering. His case is being called one of the most dramatic corruption cases in recent years in China.
Youlin was investigated as a part of anti-corruption campaign, which some critics have claimed to target his political opponents.
As per a statement by the the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court, Youlin was paid the bribes in exchange for help with “undertaking projects, business operations, land grants and working capital.”
Yang “illegally accepted property and assets” whose total worth came to around 2.21 billion yuan ($325 million) from a period spanning 1993 to 2023, the court said.
Yang admitted to his crimes and delivered a statement in court wherein he “expressed his guilt and remorse,” the court revealed.
Public hearings for the case were held on two days in March and April, with more than 30 people attending, the court said.
The court also revealed that Yang’s personal property will be seized and authorities would try to recover the full amount he received in bribes.
Officials being sentenced to death for corruption in China
In recent years, a number of officials working for the who have been accused of corruption were sentenced to death. In 2021, party secretary of a state-owned company, Lai Xiaomin, was sentenced to death on charges of accepting bribes, embezzlement, as well as bigamy. A local officer in Inner Mongolia, Li Jianping, was executed in 2024 once he was found guilty of embezzlement as well as bribery.
Lai Xiaomin case: The 58-year-old Lai was sentenced to death by a court in Tianjin, east of Beijing, in 2021.
As per the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin, the death sentence was justified because Lai took “especially enormous” bribes in order to help people with construction contracts, make investments, as well as help them with promotions and provide them with other favours, Associated Press reported.
Lai had asked for or collected 1.8 billion yuan ($260 million) over a decade, the court had revealed. One bribe exceeded 600 million yuan ($93 million). He was also convicted of embezzling more than 25 million yuan ($4 million) and starting a second family while being still married to his first wife.
With agency inputs
