A court in the Chinese city of Jinan, located in Shandong Province, today sentenced former Bank of China President Liu Liange to a death penalty commuted to life imprisonment for accepting bribes.
The court noted that Liu was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension, after which he will face life imprisonment for “accepting bribes amounting to more than 121 million yuan (approximately 16 million euros) between 2010 and 2023,” according to local media.
Liu was also stripped of his political rights for life, and all his personal assets were confiscated. His illegal profits will be recovered and handed over to the state treasury.
In February, the country’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate brought Liu to trial for “abusing his power to provide illegal financial assistance, including facilitating loan financing, project cooperation, and personnel arrangements.”
The banker was also accused of “issuing loans in violation of national regulations, involving particularly large amounts and causing especially severe losses.”
In October last year, Chinese authorities ordered Liu’s detention, at which time he was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Liu is the most prominent banker investigated to date by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the powerful anti-corruption body of the CPC.
He is also the latest figure in the anti-corruption campaign that Chinese authorities are carrying out across various sectors, including finance, which has so far led to charges against numerous regulatory officials and senior executives of companies and banks.
After coming to power in 2012, current CPC General Secretary and President of the country, Xi Jinping, launched an anti-corruption campaign that has resulted in the punishment of hundreds of senior Chinese officials.
While the campaign has uncovered significant corruption cases within the CPC, some critics suggest it has also been used to end the political careers of some of Xi’s rivals.
Lusa, 26/11/2024
