Beijing (AFP)
The former president of the China Development Bank (BCD), which specializes in financing infrastructure in China and abroad, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for corruption.
Hu Huaibang was found guilty of using his office to receive bribes totaling 85.5 million yuan (10.7 million euros) between 2009 and 2019, the report said. CCTV public television.
Mr. Hu was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Chengde City (north).
The judgment comes two days after a death sentence for "corruption and bigamy" by Lai Xiaomin, the former boss of financial conglomerate China Huarong - a verdict extremely rare in the business world.
Hu Huaibang, who had a career in the financial sector, became president of the China Development Bank in 2013, a position he held until 2018.
BCD is a leading player in overseas financing of the New Silk Roads, a large Beijing infrastructure project launched with more than 130 countries.
China launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2012, after Chinese President Xi Jinping took over as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since then, over one and a half million CCP cadres have been sanctioned.
This operation, popular with public opinion, is also suspected of serving to remove personalities opposed to the president's line.
In November, billionaire Jack Ma, China's most famous businessman, also faced retribution from the authorities.
They halted in extremis the colossal IPO in Hong Kong of the online payment giant Ant Group, founded by Jack Ma.
The operation should have raised more than $ 34 billion and become the largest IPO in history.
Jack Ma was able to offend the Communist regime by publicly accusing financial regulators at the end of October of curbing innovation.
Since this misstep, the former English teacher who became the pioneer of online commerce in China with his Alibaba group, has not been seen in public.
© 2021 AFP