Chinese Court Sentences Former Nanjing Official to Death in Major Bribery Case

By Blessing Nweke

A court in eastern China has sentenced former Nanjing city official Yang Youlin to death after finding him guilty of accepting more than 2.2 billion yuan ($325 million) in bribes over a 30-year period, making it one of the country’s largest corruption cases in recent years.

Yang, 69, served in several senior positions in Nanjing between 1993 and 2023. According to the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court, he abused his authority to help businesses and individuals secure engineering contracts, land transfers, financing, and other government approvals in exchange for money and valuable gifts.

In addition to bribery, Yang was convicted of embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering. The court ruled that his crimes were “extremely serious” and caused “exceptionally heavy losses” to the interests of the state and the public.

The case is part of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted officials across government, the military, and the financial sector. The campaign has resulted in the investigation and punishment of thousands of officials, although critics argue it has also been used to eliminate political opponents.

Death sentences for financial crimes remain uncommon in China but are imposed in particularly severe corruption cases involving massive sums. Former finance executive Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 after being convicted of accepting 1.8 billion yuan in bribes, while former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 for corruption-related crimes involving more than 3 billion yuan.

State media reported that Yang pleaded guilty, expressed remorse during his final statement, and cooperated with investigators. However, the court concluded that despite his assistance, the scale and seriousness of his crimes were too grave to justify a reduced sentence or a more lenient punishment.