Daijiworld Media Network - Beijing
Beijing, Dec 9: China on Tuesday executed Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), after he was convicted of accepting more than USD 156 million in bribes in one of the country’s most high-profile corruption cases in recent years, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Bai, who served at CHIH — a key subsidiary of China Huarong Asset Management, one of China's largest state-run bad-debt managers — was found guilty of offering favourable treatment in project acquisitions and financing deals between 2014 and 2018 in exchange for massive bribes.
A Tianjin court first handed down the death sentence in May 2024 without the usual two-year reprieve that often leads to commutation to life imprisonment. Bai appealed the verdict, but it was upheld in February. The Supreme People’s Court later confirmed the sentence, stating that Bai’s crimes were “extremely serious” and had caused “exceptionally significant losses” to the state and the public.
According to CCTV, Bai met his close relatives before being executed on Tuesday in Tianjin. Authorities did not disclose the method of execution. China keeps death penalty statistics secret, but rights groups estimate that thousands are executed annually.
Bai’s execution marks another major development in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, which has significantly targeted the financial sector. China Huarong has been at the centre of several corruption scandals — its former chairman Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 for accepting USD 253 million in bribes, one of the largest sums in Chinese history.
Multiple other high-ranking officials in the financial industry have also been investigated or punished. Yi Huiman, former head of China’s securities regulator, came under investigation in September. Earlier this year, Li Xiaopeng, ex-chairman of Everbright Group, was sentenced to 15 years for taking RMB 60 million in bribes. In November 2024, former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve for corruption involving RMB 121 million.
While supporters of Xi’s anti-graft campaign argue that it promotes clean governance, critics contend that the campaign also strengthens Xi’s political grip by enabling the removal of rivals under the banner of corruption control.