China Executes Former Huarong Manager After Conviction Over 1.1bn Yuan (£116m) Bribes

China has executed Bai Tianui (reported in some sources as Bai Tianhui), a former senior manager at asset manager China Huarong International Holdings, after courts found he accepted the equivalent of 1.1bn yuan (about £116 million) in bribes, authorities said.

The Tianjin High People’s Court upheld the death sentence and rejected Bai's appeal on Feb. 24. The Supreme People’s Court — which must review death sentences imposed by lower courts — said the facts of the case were "clear" and the evidence "conclusive and sufficient," adding that the sentence was appropriate given the gravity of the offence.

Prosecutors said Bai abused his position at Huarong’s state-owned offshore investment arm between 2014 and 2018 and accepted a "huge amount" of illicit payments. Officials confirmed Bai was allowed to meet close relatives before the execution but did not disclose the method used.

Background on Huarong

China Huarong International Holdings was originally established in 1999 as one of four asset-management companies tasked with cleaning up non-performing loans from state banks. Following financial stress and a government-orchestrated bailout in 2021, the firm was reorganised and later renamed China Citic Financial Assets Management. Over time, the company expanded beyond asset management into lending, investment and property businesses.

Previous Executions and Wider Anti-Corruption Drive

Bai is the second senior Huarong executive in recent years to face capital punishment for corruption. His former superior, Lai Xiaomin, was executed in January 2021 after being found guilty of accepting roughly 1.8bn yuan (about £191m) in bribes, embezzling public assets and other charges. Lai was also convicted of bigamy related to a long-term relationship outside his marriage.

Authorities say the case sits within President Xi Jinping’s wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign, which has targeted senior officials and executives across the financial sector. According to reporting by the South China Morning Post, China’s anti-corruption watchdog detained dozens of state regulators, bankers and senior finance executives in the past year, with 97 senior financial executives purged last year.

"The amount of bribes received by Bai Tianui was extremely large, the crime's circumstances were particularly serious and the social impact was particularly severe," the court said in a statement.

This case once again highlights Beijing's continued use of strict legal measures in its campaign against corruption, while raising international attention and questions about due process, transparency and the use of capital punishment in high-profile financial crimes.