Chinese Court Sentences Former Nanjing Official to Death in $325 Million Corruption Case

A court in eastern China has handed down the death penalty to a former economic development official convicted of accepting bribes worth roughly $325 million over three decades, in one of the harshest sentences for economic crimes in the country in recent years.
The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province delivered the verdict on Monday against Yang Youlin, who previously served as executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone management committee. Court authorities said Yang illegally accepted property and assets worth more than 2.21 billion yuan, or roughly $325 million, between 1993 and 2023.
Beyond bribery, Yang was found guilty of embezzlement, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power and money laundering. The bribes were reportedly paid in exchange for assistance with securing projects, business operations, land grants and working capital.
The court imposed a consolidated death sentence, stripped Yang of his political rights for life, and ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets. His illicit gains and any accrued returns have already been seized and handed to the state treasury, with authorities empowered to continue pursuing recovery of any outstanding amount.
Public hearings in the case were held over two days in March and April, with more than 30 people in attendance. Yang delivered a final statement in court expressing guilt and remorse. Photos released showed him standing between two uniformed police officers.
Part of a broader anti-corruption drive
Yang’s prosecution stemmed from President Xi Jinping’s decade-long anti-corruption campaign, which critics say has also been used to sideline the president’s political rivals. Death sentences for economic crimes remain uncommon in China, though not unprecedented under the campaign. The country has executed two former officials from China Huarong International Holdings, one of its largest bad-debt managers, since 2021. Among them was Lai Xiaomin, a party secretary at a state-owned company, sentenced to death and executed in 2021 over bribery, embezzlement and bigamy charges.
The sentencing follows a speech by Xi last week marking the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s founding, in which he highlighted the anti-graft campaign as one of his signature achievements.
The case ranks among the largest corruption prosecutions in China in terms of the scale of bribes involved, underscoring Beijing’s continued use of capital punishment as a deterrent in its long-running fight against official corruption.

SOURCE BBC NEWS