Former Head of China Huarong Sentenced to Death for Corruption

In China, the former president of the state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Company, Lai Xiaomin, has been sentenced to death for corruption and bribery, according to a report by Bloomberg.

"This morning, the Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court executed the death sentence for Lai Xiaomin," stated a report from China Central Television.

It is noted that Lai was sentenced to death back on January 5. The court determined that he illegally embezzled over 25 million yuan (approximately 3.9 million dollars) and received bribes totaling 1.79 billion yuan (around 280 million dollars). Furthermore, he lived with other women for a long time, despite being married.

Chinese media reports that Lai Xiaomin owned over 100 apartments and had just as many mistresses. According to some reports, he accommodated his lovers in 33 enterprises.

An investigation against him began in 2018, and that same year, he was removed from his position. In 2020, he confessed to keeping money, valuable items, and other assets in his apartment in Beijing, referring to it as a "supermarket." Lai claimed that he had not spent a single penny of the money obtained through bribery but hoped to save it for his children.

China Huarong is one of four companies established by the Chinese government following the Asian financial crisis in 1997.