Former executive of Chinese financial firm executed for bribery

Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings, was executed on Tuesday after the country's top court upheld his death sentence for bribery.

The execution was carried out by the Tianjin No 2 Intermediate People's Court, where Bai was convicted of bribe acceptance. The court informed Bai of the decision made by the Supreme People's Court and allowed him to meet his family members before the execution.

Bai received the death sentence at the intermediate court on May 28, 2024. He was also deprived of political rights for life, and his personal assets were confiscated. The Tianjin High People's Court upheld his death penalty after rejecting his appeal on Feb 24.

According to the SPC, Bai, from 2014 to 2018, used his various positions in the company to seek benefits for relevant departments in project acquisitions and corporate financing, in exchange for bribes exceeding 1.1 billion yuan ($156 million).

The SPC determined that Bai's behavior had constituted the crime of bribery and should be harshly punished, because the sum of his bribes was "extremely large", the circumstance of his offense was "extremely serious", the social effect was "extremely negative", and the losses to the country and the people were "extremely huge".

It agreed with the verdict made and upheld by the courts in Tianjin, noting that the facts in the case were clear, the evidence were sufficient, the application of the law was correct, and the sentencing was appropriate.

In China, a death sentence handed down by lower courts must be submitted for review to the SPC. The sentence can only be carried out after the SPC approves it.

Bai's case followed the high-profile corruption trial of Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management, who was executed in 2021 after being convicted of accepting more than 1.78 billion yuan in bribes. Lai was also found to have embezzled and extorted over 25 million yuan in public funds and maintained a bigamous relationship over an extended period.