Former Chinese banker took over Rs 1,250 crore in bribes. His 'corrupt' ex-boss got Rs 2,087 crore

The court said that although the former banker had volunteered information leading to other arrests and convictions, the bribes he had taken were 'particularly huge'. (Representational image: Unsplash)

A former senior banker in China was sentenced to death after he was convicted of accepting bribes worth more than $151 million (about Rs 1,250 crore) during his job with one of the country’s top four state asset managers.

While announcing the rare death sentence, a court in eastern China said that Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), misused his position to help others in the acquisitions and financing of projects in exchange for hefty bribes, South China Morning Post reported.

The court also permanently stripped Bai of his political rights and ordered his assets to be confiscated. It added that although the former banker had volunteered information leading to other arrests and convictions, the bribes he had taken were “particularly huge”. The impact of his crimes on society are also “particularly pernicious, causing … serious losses to the interests of the state and the people,” the court said.

Bai Tianhui อดีตผู้จัดการทั่วไปของบริษัท China Huarong International Holdings Limited ถูกตัดสิน #ประหารชีวิต จากการรับสินบนมูลค่า 1.108 พันล้านหยวน (155 ล้านดอลลาร์) โดยศาลในเทียนจินเมื่อวันอังคาร

Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International… pic.twitter.com/2psIDbp0qM

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“Taking all these [factors] into account, [the court] ruled that [Bai] does not deserve a lighter sentence. Hence the death penalty verdict,” the ruling quoted by the publication stated.

It is, however, unclear if Bai would be appealing the sentence.

With this, Bai became the second China Huarong official to receive a death sentence for corruption. In 2021, the same court had also sentenced Bai’s former boss and former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management  (CHAM), Lai Xiaomin, to death. CHIH is an offshore unit of CHAM.

He was found guilty of taking more than Rs 2,087 crore in bribes, embezzlement, and bigamy. He was executed in February 2021, a month after his sentencing.