China Sentences Ex‑Official to Death Over $325m Bribe Scandal

A court in eastern China has sentenced a former city official to death for taking more than 2.2 bn yuan ($325 million; £243 million) in bribes over 30 years.

Yang Youlin, who served in various positions in Nanjing from 1993 to 2023, was also convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering, with his ill‑gotten gains ranking among the highest in recent years.

The 69‑year‑old exploited his roles to help others secure engineering contracts, land transfers and financing, in exchange for money and valuables, according to state media.

Yang was investigated as part of President Xi Jinping’s anti‑corruption crackdown, which has reached the military, high‑level banking and many other sectors.

The Changzhou court said Yang had committed offences “of an extremely serious nature” and “caused exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the people.”

Since coming to power, President Xi has launched waves of anti‑corruption drives, which critics say are also used to purge political rivals.

Death sentences for white‑collar crimes remain rare, though they are meted out occasionally for cases involving sums exceeding 1 bn yuan.

For instance, former finance chief Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 for taking 1.8 bn yuan in bribes over a ten‑year period, and former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 for embezzling and taking bribes totalling more than 3 bn yuan.

In many other cases, courts have handed out jail terms or suspended death sentences, which can be commuted to life imprisonment after a specified duration.

The courts have also reduced sentences in some cases where the convicted individuals reported on other offenders.

But while Yang provided similar assistance to authorities, his offences were so "grave" that his cooperation proved insufficient for a more lenient punishment, the Changzhou court said.

Yang pleaded guilty and “expressed remorse in his final statement,” according to state media.