Former president of China Merchants Bank given death sentence with reprieve

Tian Huiyu, former president of China Merchants Bank, was sentenced to death Monday with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes, abusing power, trading on the basis of undisclosed information, insider trading and leaking inside information.

The Intermediate People's Court of Changde in Hunan Province, central China, established that Tian, also former Party chief of the China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., took advantage of his posts at various financial institutions to seek benefits for other units and individuals in matters such as loan approval, business contracting and job adjustment, and accepted money and valuables worth over 210 million yuan (about 29.55 million US dollars) in return.

Tian was also found to have abused his power at China Merchants Bank to intervene in the regular operations of its affiliated institutions, causing heavy losses to national interests.

The court also found that Tian took part in securities trading by exploiting relevant undisclosed information or inside information, and leaked inside information to others, making illegal profits of over 298 million yuan.

Tian was deprived of his political rights for life, and all his personal assets were confiscated, the court said in a statement.

The total amount of bribes Tian had taken was massive, and his crimes caused a heavy loss to the state and the people, the court said. However, a lenient sentence was granted because he had confessed to all his crimes, showed remorse, and was cooperative in returning his illegal gains.