A Chinese senior official has been sentenced to death after being convicted of accepting multimillion-dollar bribes, misappropriation of public funds, money laundering, and abuse of power.

According to China Central TV (CCTV), Yang Youlin, a former executive deputy director of the administrative committee of the Nanjing Development Zone, was sentenced on Monday by the Changzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu province for illegally receiving money and property.

The court’s verdict found Mr Yang guilty on all charges.

The court said the crimes resulted in “massive losses” to the state. 

Mr Yang accepted more than 2.21 billion yuan illegally from manipulated business operations and contracts while holding several government appointments. 

Financial crimes have been tackled under Xi Jinping’s administration, which has prosecuted numerous senior officials on corruption-related charges.

Death sentences for corruption in the country have become rare due to the severe anti-corruption campaign.

In 2018, Zhang Zhongsheng, an official from Shanxi province, was sentenced to death for accepting over a billion yuan in bribes. 

However, his sentence was commuted on an appeal in 2021, suspending the death sentence and converting it to life imprisonment.

Another former official, Li Jianping, was executed in 2024 in China’s Inner Mongolia region, after being convicted on corruption-related charges involving more than three billion yuan.