China sentences former senior banker Bai Tianhui to death for taking $156 million in bribes

BEIJING: China has executed the former general manager of a top state-controlled asset management firm. The Chinese government has executed Bai Tianhui, a former manager of state-controlled China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH). The sentence was imposed in connection with the incident in which Bai Tianhui accepted more than $156 million in bribes between 2014 and 2018 while he was the head of CHIH, to favour the acquisition and financing of various projects.

CHIH is a subsidiary of China Huarong Asset Management, the world’s largest asset management firm focuses on managing bad debt. Huarong has been a key target of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crackdown. In 2021, the firm’s former chairman Lai Xiaom was executed for corruption involving $253 million. Several other officials were also executed following an anti-corruption investigation.

Normally, in China, death sentences for corruption are often commuted to life in prison after a two-year reprieve. However, Bai Tianhu was not given a reprieve for his 2024 sentence. Bai appealed, but it was rejected in February. China's Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying the case was "too serious."

The court rejected his petition, noting that Bai had taken an 'extraordinarily large amount of bribes' and that the circumstances under which he committed the act were very serious and that the social impact would be huge. He was executed early Tuesday morning. He was allowed to see close relatives before this. While many argue that this measure is good for eradicating corruption in the country, critics say that Xi Jinping is executing his political enemies in this way.