Ex-Bank of China Chairman Sentenced to Death With Reprieve

China handed a suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Ltd. Chairman Liu Liange over bribery, marking heightened scrutiny over the nation’s $66 trillion financial sector.

Liu’s penalty carries a two-year reprieve and all his assets will be seized, state broadcaster China Central Television reported Tuesday. The sentence means he could be spared execution if he behaves during the period.

Liu was one of the most senior bankers to become implicated in a broad crackdown on corruption in the financial sector unleashed by President Xi Jinping in late 2021. His sentencing followed those of at least two other high-profile financial officials this year, as Xi charges ahead with his signature anti-graft campaign.

Liu, who was probed in March last year, was found to have accepted over 121 million yuan ($17 million) in bribes and illegally facilitated the issuance of 3.3 billion yuan in loans, according to the report.

His downfall added to the hundreds of financial officials and executives caught in a sweeping anti-graft push that has shown no signs of slowing. Xi vowed early this year to deepen anti-corruption efforts in sectors from finance to energy and show “no mercy” in the fight, even after having claimed initial victory in mid-2022.

Other financial executives to have been sentenced to death with reprieve include Tian Huiyu, the former president of China Merchants Bank Co., Sun Deshun, ex-president of China Citic Bank Corp., and Wang Bin, a previous chairman of China Life Insurance Co.

Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., was executed in January 2021 for bribery and other crimes.