Execution of death penalty for high-ranking Chinese official involved in 600 billion won corruption scandal

The Largest Corruption Scandal in History

A former high-ranking official in China involved in a corruption scandal worth around 600 billion won has been executed.

On the 17th, Yonhap News, citing China Central Television (CCTV), reported, "The Xing'anmeng Intermediate People's Court in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with approval from the Supreme People's Court, carried out the execution of Li Jianping (64), former Party Working Committee Secretary of the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone in Inner Mongolia, this morning."

Li Zhenping. Capture from the Supreme People's Court of China

The trial revealed that Li Jianping was involved in a massive corruption case amounting to approximately 600 billion won. He was convicted of embezzling 1.437 billion yuan (about 280 billion won) of state funds by abusing his position, accepting bribes worth 577 million yuan (about 110 billion won), and misappropriating 1.055 billion yuan (about 208 billion won) of public funds.

Among the illegally embezzled funds, 289 million yuan (about 57 billion won) remained unpaid, and 444 million yuan (about 87.6 billion won) was not returned to the authorities. This case is recorded as the largest corruption scandal not only in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region but also in China’s history.

Li Jianping admitted that part of the corrupt funds was squandered on gambling, while the rest was spent on purchasing calligraphy and paintings, antiques, precious metals, luxury wristwatches, and famous domestic and international liquors. Local Chinese media reported that his personal storage contained tens of thousands of bottles of various famous liquors.

In September 2022, the Xing'anmeng Intermediate People's Court (first trial) sentenced Li Jianping to death for embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and aiding organized crime. The court also ordered permanent deprivation of political rights and confiscation of all his property.

Li Jianping appealed, but the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Higher People's Court rejected the appeal on August 22 of this year and obtained approval for the execution from the Supreme People's Court. The Supreme People's Court stated that the amount involved was extremely large and serious, and the facts recognized in both the first trial and appeal were clear and supported by solid evidence, making the sentence appropriate.

Meanwhile, China has been continuing a high-level anti-corruption purge led by President Xi Jinping over the past few years. Last year, about 610,000 party officials were punished for disciplinary violations, including 49 officials at the vice-ministerial level or above. This year, more than 50 high-ranking officials at the vice-ministerial level or above have been expelled from the party, marking the largest scale since President Xi took office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.