ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – A Chinese court on Tuesday, May 28 2024, sentenced a former executive officer of one of the largest state-controlled asset management companies to death for accepting bribes.
Bai Tianhui, a former general manager at Huarong Ase Management, was found guilty of receiving more than 1.1 billion yuan. He is known to use his position to seek profits in project acquisitions and company financing.
Reported by CNA, Huarong has become the main target of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s eradication of corruption. This is a continuation after previously Lai Xiaomin, the head of the same institution, was executed in January 2021 for accepting bribes worth US$260 million.
Supporters say the anti-corruption campaign promotes clean government, but critics say it also gives Xi Jinping the power to eliminate political rivals.
CCTV media reported that a Chinese court had sentenced Bai to death, including deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property.
“The value of the crime of bribery committed by Bai Tianhui is very large, the crime is very serious, the social impact is very bad, and it causes enormous losses to the interests of the state and the people,” said the court’s decision.
Top Chinese officials said at a Politburo meeting discussing financial risks that those who fail to carry out their duties will be held accountable and severely punished.
The last few months have seen several figures from China’s financial and banking sectors targeted by anti-corruption authorities.
Bank of China Chairman Liu Liange admitted last April to accepting bribes and providing illegal loans from 2019 to 2023. Furthermore, in the same month, the former chairman of China’s largest state-owned banking company, Everbright Group, Li Xiaopeng was investigated for serious violations against law.
China classifies the death penalty as a state secret, although Amnesty and other human rights groups believe that thousands of people are executed in the country every year. (ATN)
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