A court in eastern China has sentenced a former city official to death for taking more than 2.2 bn yuan ($325 million; £243 million) in bribes over 30 years.
Yang Youlin, who served in various positions in Nanjing from 1993 to 2023, was also convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power and money laundering. His ill‑gotten gains rank among the highest recorded in recent years.
The 69‑year‑old exploited his roles to help others secure engineering contracts, land transfers and financing, in exchange for money and valuables, according to state media.
Yang was investigated as part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown, which has reached far beyond the political elite, touching the military, finance and other sectors.
In a statement in Changzhou court on Monday, officials said Yang had committed offenses of an extremely serious nature and had caused exceptionally heavy losses to the state and people.
Death sentences for white‑collar crime remain rare, but the courts have executed officials when sums exceed 1 bn yuan.
Former finance chief Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 for taking 1.8 bn yuan in bribes over a decade. Li Jianping, a former Inner Mongolia official, was executed in 2024 for embezzlement and bribes totaling more than 3 bn yuan.
In many other cases, courts have handed out jail terms or suspended death sentences, which are later commuted to life imprisonment.
Yang was also a willing witness for authorities, but the court determined his assistance was insufficient to warrant a lighter punishment, noting that his offenses were so grave that “remorse” could not buy a reduction.
Yang pleaded guilty and “expressed remorse in his final statement”, according to state media.
