Former Bank of China Chairman Receives Suspended Death Sentence

Liu Liange (L), vice-president of Export-Import Bank of China, shakes hands with Rodolphe Saade, vice-president of French container transportation and shipping company CGA-CGM, during a contract signing ceremony in Marseille, France, on July 1, 2015. Boris Horvat/AFP via Getty Images

A Chinese court on Nov. 26 handed a suspended death sentence to Liu Liange, former chairman of the state-owned Bank of China, after being found guilty of accepting bribes and granting loans illegally.

Liu’s fall from grace adds to the growing list of senior bankers and executives in China’s $66 trillion financial sector who have been ensnared in the sweeping anti-corruption campaign initiated by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping.

Liu was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by the Jinan Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern province of Shandong, according to a Nov. 26 report published on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) website. The reprieve was granted for Liu’s “truthful confession” of the crime and the recovery of most of the misappropriated money and property, among other things, the CCP’s top disciplinary watchdog said.

If Liu displays good behavior over the next two years, his death sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment, it said.

Liu, 63, held senior positions at some of the country’s top financial institutions, including China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and the Export-Import Bank of China (EximBank), a policy lender. In 2019, the economist was promoted to chairman of the Bank of China, one of the four major state-owned lenders in the country.

In March 2023, the Bank of China announced that Liu resigned from his posts as chairman and Party secretary. In less than two weeks, the CCDI revealed that Liu had been placed under investigation for alleged corruption.

On Nov. 26, the court said Liu leveraged his influence and authority at the PBOC and EximBank between 2010 and 2023 by facilitating loans, project cooperations, and personal appointments for various individuals and companies. In return, he accepted bribes worth more than 121 million yuan ($17 million), according to the report.

Liu was also accused of approving loans worth 3.32 billion yuan ($458 million) to companies that did not meet the required qualifications, violating laws and causing a loss of 191 million yuan ($26 million).

Liu could not be reached for comment.

The momentum of the anti-corruption campaign appears to show no signs of easing as Xi has tightened control over the country’s vast financial sector.

Fan Yifei, former vice governor of China’s central bank, was handed a suspended death sentence last month after being found guilty of accepting bribes exceeding 386 million yuan ($53 million).

In February, a Chinese court sentenced Tian Huiyu, former president of China Merchants Bank, to death with a two-year reprieve. Tian was charged with taking bribes, abusing power, and committing other crimes.

The CCP leader has pledged to step up efforts to combat corruption. Speaking at the CCDI’s meeting in January, Xi told officials to show “absolutely no mercy” in battling what he described as a “severe and complex” corruption situation, according to state media Xinhua.

However, outside observers have said that the CCP’s purges are driven by a desire to consolidate its power.

“The communist regime conducted frequent [anti-corruption] campaigns because it needed to centralize control through campaigns,” China current affairs commentator Li Jian previously told The Epoch Times.