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China has executed a former executive of a leading state-owned asset management firm for corruption on Tuesday, according to state media.
Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), was convicted of taking over $156 million in bribes while providing preferential treatment in project acquisitions and financing from 2014 to 2018, as reported by state broadcaster CCTV.
CHIH operates as a subsidiary of China Huarong Asset Management, which is one of the nation’s largest funds specialising in bad-debt management.
Huarong has been a significant focus of President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign, with its previous chairman, Lai Xiaomin, executed in January 2021 for accepting bribes totalling $253 million.
Numerous other executives from Huarong have also been caught up in anti-corruption investigations.
In China, death penalties for corruption typically come with a two-year suspension and may later be reduced to life imprisonment.
However, Bai’s sentence, which was initially issued in May 2024 by a court in Tianjin, was carried out without delay. He appealed against his conviction, but the original ruling was reaffirmed in February.
The Supreme People’s Court, which is China’s highest judicial authority, confirmed the ruling after a review, declaring that Bai’s offences were “extremely serious,” as reported by CCTV.
“(Bai) accepted bribes of an exceptionally large amount, the circumstances of his crimes were exceptionally serious, the social impact was especially egregious, and the interests of the state and the people suffered exceptionally significant losses”, CCTV quoted the SPC as saying.
Bai was executed in Tianjin on Tuesday morning following a meeting with close family members, as the broadcaster reported, though it did not detail the method of execution.
China keeps statistics on the death penalty classified as state secrets, but Amnesty and other human rights organisations estimate that thousands are executed annually in the country.
Bai is the latest high-ranking official to face consequences in an extensive crackdown on corruption in China’s financial sector.
Yi Huiman, the former head of China’s leading securities regulator, was investigated for corruption in September. In March, Li Xiaopeng, the former leader of the state-controlled banking giant Everbright Group, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for accepting bribes amounting to 60 million yuan. Liu Liange, the ex-chairman of the Bank of China, received a death sentence with a two-year suspension in November 2024 for taking bribes totalling 121 million yuan.
Supporters claim that the anti-corruption initiative fosters clean governance, while critics argue that it also empowers Xi to eliminate political adversaries.
