Former head of the Chinese bank sentenced to death for bribery.

A court in the Chinese province of Shandong has sentenced the former head of Bank of China, one of China's largest banks, to death for bribery and illegal lending. This was reported by Reuters.

The convicted Liu Liangge headed Bank of China in 2019 and had previously worked at the People's Bank of China and the Export-Import Bank of China. He was dismissed in 2021 on charges of illegal activities and bribery.

The indictment stated that Liu Liangge used his position to promote many people and that the amount of bribes he received was 'particularly large', amounting to over 121 million yuan ($17 million). It was also found that he violated laws by approving loans totaling over 3.32 billion yuan, resulting in losses of over 190 million yuan.

The court took into account that the former bank director confessed to all the crimes and returned most of the money. Therefore, he was sentenced to a two-year suspended execution. According to Chinese law, this means that the official will only be executed if he commits another crime within two years.

In recent months, China's anti-corruption body has launched a campaign to detect violations in the financial sector, which has affected high-ranking bankers. Earlier in October, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of China, Fang Yifei, was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension for bribery.

It is worth noting that in Saudi Arabia, a record number of foreigners - just over 100 - were executed in the incomplete year of 2024.

By the way, the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expanded the list of crimes punishable by death from 11 to 16 by revising the criminal legislation.