Former Bank of China branch manager Xu Guojun was jailed for life. Image: INTERMEDIATE PEOPLE’S COURT OF JIANGMEN.
Corruption leads to life sentence for former bank manager in China.
A life sentence was handed down to a former bank manager in China in connection with the country’s most significant corruption case.
Between 1993 and 2001, Xu Guojun oversaw a branch of the Bank of China in southern China. He was found guilty of embezzling 2.3 billion yuan, which is equivalent to $325 million or £255 million.
This case represents the most recent step in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign targeting the $60 trillion financial sector of the country.
The crackdown has ensnared numerous executives and officials from the financial industry.
In order to get fraudulent loans, Xu and two other former employees of the Bank of China allegedly exploited weaknesses in the system that managed the lender’s funds.
Both of Xu’s accomplices had prior prison terms of twelve and thirteen years, respectively. Local media sources indicate that approximately 2 billion yuan of the stolen funds have been retrieved.
Xu has stated his intention to not appeal the conviction. He was forcibly repatriated two years ago after fleeing to the US in 2001.
Additionally, all of his assets were taken, and he has been stripped of political rights for life.
There have been fines, jail terms, or investigations pending against other prominent financial executives from Chinese state-owned banks.
The “hedonistic” lives of bankers must be curbed, according to President Xi.
Accusations of bribery and the provision of illicit loans led to the arrest of a former chairman of the Bank of China in October.
The state-owned bank’s chairman from 2019 to 2023, Liu Liange, stepped down in March of this year.
After a trial for bribery, Wang Bin, the former head of China Life Insurance, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole in September.
Officials issued a warning in April that the crackdown on corruption in the country’s banking industry was far from complete, suggesting that efforts to root it out are intensifying.