China Executes Former Banking Executive Bai Tianhui for $156 Million Corruption Case

Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings, was executed in China on Tuesday for corruption charges, according to state media reports.

The ex-general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH) was convicted of accepting bribes totaling more than $156 million in exchange for preferential treatment in project acquisition and financing between 2014 and 2018, state broadcaster CCTV announced.

CHIH operates as a subsidiary of China Huarong Asset Management, one of the country's largest asset management funds specializing in bad-debt management.

China Huarong has been prominently targeted in President Xi Jinping's extensive anti-corruption campaign, with its former chairman Lai Xiaomin previously executed in January 2021 for accepting bribes worth $253 million.

Multiple other executives from Huarong have also been implicated in anti-corruption investigations.

While death sentences for corruption in China are frequently issued with two-year reprieves that later convert to life imprisonment, Bai's sentence, initially delivered in May 2024 by a Tianjin court, carried no such suspension.

Bai appealed his conviction, but the original verdict was upheld in February.

China's highest judicial authority, the Supreme People's Court, confirmed the decision after review, declaring that Bai's offenses were "extremely serious," according to CCTV.

"(Bai) accepted bribes of an exceptionally large amount, the circumstances of his crimes were exceptionally serious, the social impact was especially egregious, and the interests of the state and the people suffered exceptionally significant losses," CCTV quoted the Supreme People's Court as stating.

Bai was executed in Tianjin on Tuesday morning after being permitted to meet with close family members, the broadcaster reported, without specifying the execution method.

China classifies statistics on capital punishment as state secrets, though Amnesty International and other human rights organizations estimate thousands of executions occur annually in the country.

Bai represents the latest high-profile figure to face severe punishment in China's ongoing crackdown on financial sector corruption.

Yi Huiman, who previously headed China's top securities regulatory agency, came under investigation for corruption in September.

Earlier in March, Li Xiaopeng, former head of state-owned Everbright Group, received a 15-year prison sentence for accepting bribes worth 60 million yuan.

Liu Liange, who previously chaired the Bank of China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in November 2024 for accepting bribes totaling 121 million yuan.

While supporters maintain that the anti-corruption campaign promotes transparent governance, critics argue it simultaneously provides President Xi with the means to remove political opponents.