China sentences former official to death in $325M bribery case

International

A COURT in eastern China has sentenced former Nanjing official Yang Youlin to death after he was found guilty of accepting more than 2.2 billion yuan (about $325 million) in bribes over a 30-year period.

Yang, 69, was also convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering.

Prosecutors said he used his government positions between 1993 and 2023 to help individuals obtain engineering contracts, land transfers, and financing in exchange for money and valuables.

The Changzhou court described Yang's offenses as "extremely serious" and said they caused exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the public, a report by BBC stated.

Although Yang pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, and cooperated with investigators, the court ruled that the gravity of his crimes did not justify a lighter sentence.

The case is part of President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted officials across the government, military, and financial sectors.

Critics, however, have argued that the campaign has also been used to remove political rivals.

BBC noted that death sentences for corruption-related crimes remain rare in China and are typically reserved for cases involving exceptionally large sums.

Previous high-profile cases include former finance executive Lai Xiaomin, who was executed in 2021 after taking 1.8 billion yuan in bribes, and former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping, who was executed in 2024 over corruption involving more than 3 billion yuan. (Feirnchae Mingoy Lim, UP Cebu Comm Intern)