A court in eastern China has sentenced former Nanjing city official Yang Youlin to death after convicting him of accepting more than 2.2 billion yuan ($325 million; £243 million) in bribes over a 30-year period.
Yang, 69, who held several positions in Nanjing between 1993 and 2023, was also found guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering. Authorities said the value of his illicit gains ranks among the largest recorded in recent years.
According to Chinese state media, Yang used his official positions to help individuals obtain engineering contracts, land transfers and financing in return for cash and other valuables.
His prosecution formed part of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted officials across the military, financial sector and other key institutions.
A court in Changzhou said on Monday that Yang’s crimes were “of an extremely serious nature” and had “caused exceptionally heavy losses to the interests of the state and the people.”
Since assuming office, President Xi has overseen multiple anti-corruption campaigns, which critics argue have also served to remove political opponents.
Although death sentences for financial crimes are uncommon in China, they have been imposed in cases involving exceptionally large sums, particularly those exceeding one billion yuan.
Former finance executive Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 after being convicted of taking 1.8 billion yuan in bribes over a decade, while former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 for embezzlement and bribery involving more than 3 billion yuan.
In many other corruption cases, courts have imposed prison terms or suspended death sentences, which are often commuted to life imprisonment after a specified period.
Chinese courts have also reduced sentences for some convicted officials who cooperated with investigators by providing information on other offenders.
However, although Yang assisted investigators, the Changzhou court ruled that his offences were so “grave” that his assistance “was insufficient to warrant a more lenient punishment.”
State media reported that Yang pleaded guilty and “expressed remorse in his final statement.”
