China sentences former Nanjing official to death for bribery

A Chinese court has sentenced a former Nanjing official to death after finding he accepted more than 2.2 billion yuan, about $324 million to $325 million, in bribes over three decades, one of the country’s largest corruption cases in recent years.

Yang Youlin, 69, held a series of government posts in the eastern city from 1993 to 2023. The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province said Monday that Yang used those positions to help others secure engineering projects, business operations, land transfers, land grants and working capital in exchange for money and valuables.

The court also convicted Yang of embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power and money laundering. The BBC reported that the court described his offenses as “of an extremely serious nature” and said they “caused exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the people.”

Yang spent much of his career working on economic and technological development in Nanjing. Court officials released photos showing him wearing a dark jacket while standing between two uniformed police officers, Al Jazeera reported. Public hearings in the case were held over two days in March and April, with more than 30 people attending, according to the court.

Yang pleaded guilty and, in his final statement, “expressed his guilt and remorse,” the court said. Reuters, cited by Al Jazeera, said it could not reach Yang or his lawyer for comment.

The court ordered Yang’s personal property seized and said authorities would try to recover the full amount he received in bribes. It said that although Yang had assisted authorities by reporting on other offenders, his crimes were so grave that the help “was insufficient to warrant a more lenient punishment,” according to the BBC.

Yang was investigated as part of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign, which has reached military ranks, high-level banking and other sectors. Critics say the campaign has also been used as a tool to remove Xi’s political rivals.

Death sentences for white-collar crimes remain rare in China, though courts have imposed them in some corruption cases involving especially large sums. In many cases, defendants receive prison terms or suspended death sentences that are later commuted to life imprisonment after a specified period. Courts have also reduced sentences for some convicted officials who reported on others.

Several recent corruption cases have led to executions or death sentences. Lai Xiaomin, a former finance chief and party secretary of a state-owned company, was executed in 2021 after being convicted of accepting bribes, embezzlement and bigamy. The BBC reported that Lai took 1.8 billion yuan in bribes over a 10-year period.

Li Jianping, a former official in Inner Mongolia, was executed in 2024 after being found guilty of embezzlement and bribery. The BBC reported that the total involved exceeded 3 billion yuan.

In another major case, Zhang Zhongsheng, an official from Shanxi province, was sentenced to death in 2018 for accepting more than 1 billion yuan in bribes. Al Jazeera reported that Zhang’s punishment was changed to a suspended death sentence and life imprisonment in 2021 following an appeal.