Former executive of China Merchants Bank given suspended death sentence

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) - Authorities in China sentenced the former president of China Merchants Bank Co. (CMB) to death this week with a two-year reprieve on charges of taking bribes and insider trading.

In a trial held in the city of Changde in Hunan province, the court ruled that Tian Huiyu abused his position at CMB and its affiliate China Cinda Asset Management Co. by taking bribes totaling 210 million yuan ($29.5 million) and obtaining 290 million yuan ($40.8 million) in unfair gains by using insider information in share trading.

In China, suspended death sentences are usually converted to life imprisonment when their term expires.

Tian, 58, who took over the management of CMB, one of China's largest commercial banks, in 2013, played a leading role in expanding its activities in the field of investment and asset management.

He was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office over serious violations of party discipline and laws in October 2022.

The punishment was handed down following a probe by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

Tian was alleged to have made personal gains from CMB's secret shareholdings in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) during the period when CMB brokered its public offering process.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun