China sentences former local official to death in $324m corruption case

A Chinese court has sentenced former Nanjing official Yang Youlin to death for accepting bribes totaling over 2.2 billion yuan ($324 million) between 1993 and 2023. The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court stated that Yang accepted money and property in exchange for facilitating business favors, including project approvals, land grants, and operational support. He was also convicted of embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power, and money laundering. Yang's personal property will be seized, and authorities will attempt to recover the illicit funds. This case is part of China's ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

A former city official in eastern China, Yang Youlin, has been sentenced to death for taking over 2.2 billion yuan ($325 million) in bribes and committing other offenses including embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering. Over a 30-year period, the 69-year-old exploited his positions in Nanjing to facilitate engineering contracts, land transfers, and financing in exchange for money and valuables. The court in Changzhou stated his actions were of an "extremely serious nature" and caused "exceptionally heavy losses." Yang's case is part of President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign. While death sentences for white-collar crimes are rare, they are sometimes imposed for cases involving sums exceeding 1 billion yuan.

A court in eastern China has sentenced former economic development official Yang Youlin to death for accepting bribes totaling over 2.21 billion yuan ($325 million) between 1993 and 2023. Yang, who served in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, was convicted of multiple corruption-related charges including bribery, embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering. The bribes were reportedly paid in exchange for assistance with projects, business operations, land grants, and working capital. Yang's sentencing occurred as part of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. His personal property will be confiscated, and authorities will attempt to recover the full bribe amount. This case is one of the most significant corruption cases in recent years due to the scale of the bribes involved.

A former municipal official in eastern China, Yang Youlin, has received a death sentence for taking over 2.2 billion yuan (US$323.8 million) in bribes. Yang, who was the executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone management committee, was convicted of bribery, embezzlement, misappropriating public funds, abuse of power, and money laundering. The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province delivered the verdict on Monday. In addition to the death sentence, Yang was stripped of his political rights for life, and all his personal assets were ordered confiscated. The court also mandated the seizure of his ill-gotten gains and their yields, with the state empowered to recover any outstanding amounts.