On Sunday (the 6th), the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province announced the verdict that Yang Youlin, former Executive Deputy Director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone Administrative Committee, was found guilty on six counts—bribery, embezzlement, offering bribes, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power, and money laundering. He was sentenced to death, was permanently deprived of political rights, and had all his personal property confiscated. This is viewed as one of the most severe judgments against economic crimes in China in recent years.
According to reports, the court determined that between 1993 and 2023—a span of 30 years—Yang Youlin used the convenience of his positions in various key posts in Nanjing to assist related entities and individuals in project contracting, business operations, land transfers, and capital turnover, illegally receiving assets totaling more than 2.214 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion Malaysian ringgit).
The judgment noted that the sum involved in Yang Youlin’s bribery was extraordinarily large, making it one of the highest recorded bribery cases handled by Chinese courts.
In addition, the court found that between 2014 and 2016, Yang Youlin abused his authority, working with others to fraudulently obtain 12 million yuan (about 7.1 million Malaysian ringgit) in government funds; and between 2005 and 2023, for the sake of improper benefits, offered bribes to others totaling over 25 million yuan (about 14.8 million Malaysian ringgit).
Regarding misappropriation of public funds, Yang Youlin misappropriated a total of 15 million yuan (about 8.9 million Malaysian ringgit) for personal business activities in two instances between 2001 and 2002. From 2003 to 2009, he also abused his authority by improperly arranging land acquisition and construction, as well as unlawfully refunding land transfer funds, causing direct economic losses to the state of about 23 million yuan (about 13.6 million Malaysian ringgit).
The court also found that in 2023, Yang Youlin laundered 1 million yuan (about 590,000 Malaysian ringgit) in criminal proceeds through a company under his effective control.
According to China Central Television, although Yang Youlin provided clues that helped solve other cases and was thus eligible for leniency by law, the court determined that the amount of bribery was especially huge, the circumstances particularly serious, and the social impact extremely negative, and therefore decided not to grant leniency.
Yang Youlin, now 69 years old, was born in April 1957. During the public trial in March and April of this year, he confessed and expressed remorse in court.