Chinese Court Sentences E Local Official To Death Over Bribes Worth $325 Million
Chinese Court Sentences E Local Official To Death Over Bribes Worth $325 Million Written By, Last Updated: July 07, 2026, 17:43 IST Youlin was also
Chinese Court Sentences E Local Official To Death Over Bribes Worth $325 Million Written By, Last Updated: July 07, 2026, 17:43 IST Youlin was also found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering, with his ill-gotten gains amounting to one of the highest in recent years. Yang Youlin had served in various positions in Nanjing city from 1993 to 2023. (Image: X) A Chinese court has ordered the death penalty for a former city official for accepting bribes worth more than 2.2bn yuan ($325m; £243m) over 30 years. The convict, identified as Yang Youlin (69), had served in various positions in Nanjing city from 1993 to 2023. Youlin was also found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering, with his ill-gotten gains amounting to one of the highest in recent years, BBC reported.
President Xi’s Sweeping Anti-Corruption Campaign According to state media, the 69-year-old abused his official positions to obtain engineering contracts, facilitate land transfers and arrange financing for others in return for cash and expensive gifts. He was investigated under President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted senior military officers, banking executives and top government officials. A court in Changzhou ruled on Monday that Yang had committed “extremely serious" offences that inflicted “exceptionally heavy losses" on the interests of the state and the public. Much of his career was spent overseeing economic and technological development in Nanjing. Since taking office, Xi has made anti-corruption a central pillar of his administration, although critics argue the campaign has also been used to sideline political opponents. Yang Pleads Guilty Capital punishment for financial crimes is uncommon in China and is generally reserved for cases involving exceptionally large-scale corruption.
finance executive Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 after accepting 1.8 billion yuan in bribes, while former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 over embezzlement and bribery exceeding 3 billion yuan. Many other corruption convicts receive prison terms or suspended death sentences that are later commuted to life imprisonment. Courts have also reduced punishments for some defendants who cooperated with investigators. Although Yang admitted his crimes, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, the court said his cooperation was not significant enough to justify a lighter sentence given the gravity of his offences. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk.
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