WASHINGTON — A court in eastern China on Monday sentenced former local official Yang Youlin to death after convicting him of accepting more than 2.21 billion yuan ($325 million) in bribes over a 30-year period, according to Chinese authorities.
The Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court said Yang, a former economic development official in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, accepted money, property and other assets between 1993 and 2023 in exchange for providing assistance with project approvals, business operations, land grants and working capital.
In addition to accepting bribes, Yang was convicted of embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power and money laundering.
The court ordered the confiscation of Yang’s personal property and said authorities would seek to recover the full amount of the illicit proceeds.
According to the court, Yang expressed remorse during his final statement.
Public hearings for the case were held on two separate days in March and April and were attended by more than 30 people, the court said.
Yang was investigated under President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted thousands of officials over the past decade. Critics have argued that the campaign has also been used to sideline Xi’s political rivals.
Yang is the latest Chinese official to receive the death penalty for corruption-related offenses.
In 2021, former state-owned company executive Lai Xiaomin was sentenced to death and executed after being convicted of accepting bribes, embezzlement and bigamy. In 2024, former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed following convictions for embezzlement and bribery.
