Death penalty for executive who took bribes

In China, Bai Tienhui, the former General Manager of the state-owned asset management company China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), has been sentenced to death in a trial where he was charged with "bribery" and "abuse of power."

In the case heard in the city of Tianjin, the court ruled that Bai had abused his administrative position at the company to accept 1.1 billion yuan (approximately 151 million dollars) in bribes.

The court sentenced the former executive to death for the crimes of "bribery" and "abuse of power."

In the reasoning for the death sentence, it was noted that "the magnitude of the amount illicitly obtained, the impact of the crime on society, and the damage caused to the interests of the state and the people were taken into consideration."

OTHER EXECUTIVES OF THE COMPANY WILL ALSO FACE TRIAL

Bai is the second executive of China Huarong to be sentenced to death due to corruption.

The company's Chairman of the Board, Lai Xiaomin, was sentenced to death for accepting 1.79 billion yuan (approximately 247 million dollars) in bribes and embezzling assets worth 25.13 million yuan (approximately 3.46 million dollars), and the sentence was carried out one month later.

Four more former executives of the company are expected to appear in court.

China Huarong, one of the four major state-owned asset management companies established by China following the Asian financial crisis, joined the Citic Group in 2021 and was renamed China Citic Financial Asset Management Co., Ltd.