China sentences former local official to death in $۳۲۴m corruption case

Yang Youlin, an ex-official in the eastern city of Nanjing, accepted bribes in exchange for business favours, court says.

A Chinese court has sentenced a former senior official in the eastern city of Nanjing to death for accepting bribes.

Yang Youlin illegally accepted money and property totalling more than ۲.۲ billion yuan ($۳۲۴m) while holding various government posts from ۱۹۹۳ to ۲۰۲۳, the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement on Monday.

The bribes were paid to Yang in exchange for help with “undertaking projects, business operations, land grants and working capital”, the court in Jiangsu province said.

Yang was also convicted of embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power and money laundering in one of the most dramatic corruption cases in recent years in terms of the sheer scale of the bribes involved.

Yang, who was pictured wearing a dark jacket while standing between two uniformed police officers in photos released by court officials, delivered a final statement that “expressed his guilt and remorse”, the court said.

The Reuters news agency could not reach Yang or his lawyer for comment.

Public hearings for the case were held on two days in March and April, with more than ۳۰ people attending, according to the court.

The court said Yang’s personal property would be seized and authorities would try to recover the full amount he received in bribes.

Yang was investigated as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s long-running anticorruption campaign, which critics say has been used partly to remove Xi’s political rivals.

He is the latest official to be sentenced to death for corruption in recent years in China.

In ۲۰۲۱, Lai Xiaomin, a party secretary of a state-owned company, was sentenced to death and executed over crimes of accepting bribes, embezzlement and bigamy.

In ۲۰۲۴, Li Jianping, a local official in Inner Mongolia, was executed after being found guilty of embezzlement and bribery.

In another major case, Zhang Zhongsheng, an official from Shanxi province, was sentenced to death in ۲۰۱۸ for accepting more than ۱ billion yuan in bribes.

Zhang’s punishment was changed to a suspended death sentence and life imprisonment in ۲۰۲۱ following an appeal.