Former bank chairman gets 2-year reprieve on death sentence

Cai Guohua, former chairman of Hengfeng Bank, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve at his second trial on Friday for abuse of power, graft and other crimes, said a court in Jinan, Shandong Province.

All of Cai's personal property is to be confiscated and his political rights deprived for life, noted the verdict by the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court.

Cai abused power for personal gain on several occasions between 2014 and 2016 and illegally issued a 3.5 billion-yuan loan in 2017, which caused extraordinary losses to Hengfeng Bank.

He also received bribes from entities and individuals for helping them get loans and construction contracts between 2006 and 2017.

Based in Shandong, Hengfeng Bank is one of 12 nationwide joint-equity commercial banks in China.

The trial on Friday upheld a verdict in the first instance.