A court in eastern China has sentenced former Nanjing city official Yang Youlin to death after finding him guilty of accepting more than 2.2 billion yuan (about $325 million) in bribes over a period of three decades.
The 69-year-old was also convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering, with authorities describing the case as one of the country’s largest corruption scandals in recent years.
According to the court, Yang used his positions in Nanjing between 1993 and 2023 to help individuals and businesses obtain engineering contracts, land deals and financing opportunities in exchange for cash and other valuable gifts.
The court in Changzhou ruled that his crimes were extremely serious and had caused significant damage to the interests of the state and the public, making the death penalty appropriate despite his cooperation with investigators.
Yang’s conviction is part of China’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign led by President Xi Jinping, which has targeted officials across government institutions, the military and the financial sector.
Although death sentences for financial crimes are uncommon, Chinese courts have imposed the punishment in cases involving exceptionally large amounts of illicit wealth. Former finance executive Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 after being convicted of accepting 1.8 billion yuan in bribes, while former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 over corruption involving more than 3 billion yuan.
In many other corruption cases, courts have opted for lengthy prison terms or suspended death sentences that are later commuted to life imprisonment. Some convicted officials have also received reduced sentences after assisting investigators with other cases.
While Yang admitted to the charges, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, the court ruled that the seriousness of his offences outweighed any mitigating factors, leaving no basis for a lighter sentence.
