Former Bank of China Chairman Sentenced to Suspended Death for Bribery and Loan Misconduct
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A court in Shandong province has sentenced Liu Liange, the former chairman of the Bank of China, to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes and issuing illegal loans, according to state media reports.
That apparently means his death sentence will be commuted to life in prison if he does not commit any other offense in the two years.
Liu was born in 1961 and served a raft of high-ranking roles in financial institutions, such as People‘s Bank of China and the Export-Import Bank of China, before assuming the chairmanship of Bank of China in 2019.
In October 2023, Liu was dismissed from the Communist Party of China amidst accusations of corruption and bribery. His case forms part of a broader anti-graft crackdown targeting China’s financial sector.
The court announced that Liu abused his power to promote others and took bribes of more than 121 million yuan (about US$17 million). Because most of the assets he stole had been recovered and Liu cooperated during the investigation, the execution of his death sentence was suspended.
During his time in the China Export-Import Bank and the Bank of China, Liu approved illegal loans worth 3.32 billion yuan, leading to losses of more than 190 million yuan, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Liu’s case comes after a former deputy governor of China‘s central bank, Fan Yifei, was given a similarly suspended death sentence in October for bribery.
China’s anti-graft campaign continues to sweep through the nation‘s financial industry, targeting high-ranking officials in an effort to put the brakes on corruption and misconduct.
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