Banker gets suspended death penalty for graft

A former official who worked for banks in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region for more than two decades was sentenced to a suspended death on Friday for corruption, embezzlement and accepting bribes of more than 600 million yuan ($87 million).

Yang Chenglin, 66, ex-chairman of the Bank of Inner Mongolia, made use of his positions to offer "aid" for others and then asked for illegal benefits of more than 307 million yuan between 2000 and 2013, according to the ruling by the region's Baotou Intermediate People's Court.

Under the Criminal Law, Yang should be sentenced to death in such a situation, "but given that he voluntarily confessed after he was detained to corruption that judicial authorities had not known about, and pleaded guilty, we decided to sentence him to death with a two-year reprieve," the court said.

The ruling said Yang illegally received more than 6.28 million yuan in public funds in the name of paying costs for conferences and construction projects, and also colluded with others to embezzle 292 million yuan for private uses and profit-making activities.

"Yang's behaviors constitute the crimes of bribery, corruption and embezzlement," the court said in the judgment, adding the amount of money he misappropriated was "extremely huge" and the loss to the society was "extremely serious".

But considering the seriousness of the offenses, he will not be allowed commutation or parole if his sentence is reduced to life imprisonment, the court added. It means he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

All of his personal property was confiscated in line with the ruling.

Yang had stood trial at the court in March 2016 after he was accused of the three criminal charges in September 2015.

The regional prosecutors approved his arrest in July 2014, and the official was expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from office in May 2015.

He began his career in the regional banks in 1988 and had been recognized several times by the regional government, such as being a model worker and an outstanding figure in the local economy.

Two others involved in the case, Yang Hai and Zhang Ting, were sentenced on Friday respectively to 19 years in prison for bribery and embezzlement, and five years in prison for bribery.