In a significant ruling, a court in eastern China has sentenced a former city official to death for accepting over 2.2 billion yuan (approximately $325 million or £243 million) in bribes over a span of 30 years.
Yang Youlin, who held various positions within the Nanjing city government from 1993 to 2023, was also found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering, making his case one of the most substantial corruption verdicts in recent years. The 69-year-old utilized his authority to facilitate engineering contracts, land transfers, and financing in exchange for substantial monetary gains and valuable items, as reported by state media.
Yang’s investigation was part of President Xi Jinping’s extensive anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted various sectors, including the military and high-level banking institutions. The Changzhou court described Yang’s offenses as “of an extremely serious nature,” noting that they caused “exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the people.”
Since taking office, President Xi has initiated multiple anti-corruption drives, although critics argue that these efforts also serve to eliminate political adversaries. While death sentences for financial crimes are uncommon, they occasionally occur in cases involving large sums exceeding one billion yuan. For example, former finance chief Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 for accepting 1.8 billion yuan in bribes over ten years, while Li Jianping, a former official in Inner Mongolia, faced the death penalty in 2024 for embezzling and accepting bribes totaling over three billion yuan.
In other instances, courts have typically favoured imposing jail sentences or suspended death sentences that may be commuted to life imprisonment after a certain period. There have also been cases where sentences were reduced if the convicted individuals cooperated with authorities and reported on other offenders.
Despite Yang’s cooperation, the court determined that the severity of his crimes warranted a harsher punishment, stating that his assistance was “insufficient to warrant a more lenient punishment.” According to state media, Yang pleaded guilty and ‘’expressed remorse in his final statement’’.
