BEIJING (AP) – The former chairman of the main Chinese state bank behind Beijing’s initiative to build railways and ports in dozens of Asian countries has been sentenced to life in prison on corruption charges.
Hu Huaibang was convicted on Thursday after being convicted of taking 85.5 million yuan ($ 13.2 million) in bribes between 2009 and 2019, according to the Intermediate People’s Court in Chengde, a city north of Beijing. He said he used his job to help others get jobs and loans.
Hu was also secretary of the Communist Party of the Development Bank of China, one of the richest creditors in the world.
The CBD is the main source of funding for the $ 1 billion Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by building railroads, highways, ports, airports, power plants and other facilities across a range of South Pacific countries through Asia, Africa and The Middle East to Europe.
The BIS has filed complaints, some countries have been left with debts that they cannot repay. There were no indications that Hu’s prosecution was linked to the BIS.
The court ruled that Hu’s sentence was lenient because he confessed and handed over the money for the bribe.
Convictions for economic crimes in China sometimes lead to the death penalty.
In an unrelated case, the former chairman of another government financial institution, Lai Xiaomin of Huarong Asset Management Co., was sentenced to death on Tuesday on a bribery charge.