Lai Xiaomin, former board chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., was sentenced to death on January 5 for accepting 1.79 billion yuan ($275 million) in bribes, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin announced in a statement. The 58-year-old was also sentenced to 11 years in prison for embezzlement and one year in prison for bigamy. The court decided to issue the death penalty and confiscate all of his personal assets, according to the statement.

Lai took advantage of the different positions he held from 2008 to 2018, including serving as director of the general office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Party secretary and chairman of Huarong Asset Management, and as secretary of the Party committee of Huarong Xiangjiang Bank Co., to make illegal profits for both companies and individuals.