A former executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, eastern China, on Monday was sentenced to death for official corruption

Yang Youlin, 69, was convicted for accepting bribes worth over 2.21 billion yuan [$325 million], between 1993 and 2023 – Yang admitted to his crime

A court in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, also convicted him of embezzlement

The judgement also stipulated that Yang’s personal property would be seized and authorities would try to recover the full amount he received in bribes

A former economic development official in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing was sentenced to death Monday for taking bribes worth billions of yuan over three decades.
The death sentence was handed Yang Youlin, 69, a former executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone, for taking bribes worth over 2.21 billion yuan (US$325 million).
A court in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, also convicted him of embezzlement
Yang Youlin also was convicted of embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power and money laundering in one of the most dramatic corruption cases in recent years in terms of the sheer scale of the bribes involved.
He was investigated as part of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign that critics say has been used partly to remove Xi’s political rivals.
The bribes were paid to Yang in exchange for help with “undertaking projects, business operations, land grants and working capital,” the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement.
Yang “illegally accepted property and assets” worth more than 2.21 billion yuan ($325 million) from 1993 to 2023, the court said.
Yang delivered a final statement in court that “expressed his guilt and remorse,” the court in Jiangsu province said.
Public hearings for the case were held on two days in March and April, with more than 30 people attending, the court said.
It said Yang’s personal property would be seized and authorities would try to recover the full amount he received in bribes.
Yang was the latest official sentenced to death for corruption in recent years in China.
Public records show that Yang, a native of Nanjing started his career at an engine plant in his hometown in October 1976. In 2000, he became head of the housing and urban-rural development bureau in Jiangning district.
Two years later, he served as deputy head of the administrative committee of the district’s development zone, as well as the general manager of the zone’s company.
In 2012, he took the position of executive deputy director of the administrative committee of the Nanjing Development Zone. In June 2016, he became chairman of the Nanjing Niushou Mountain Cultural Tourism Company.