Former chairman of the Bank of China, Liu Liange, has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, following a seven-month period since his first trial. He was accused of taking bribes exceeding 1.21 billion yuan (RMB) and illegally issuing loans amounting to over 33.2 billion yuan.
On November 26th, the Intermediate People’s Court of Jinan City, Shandong Province, publicly pronounced the verdict of the first trial. Liu Liange, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Bank of China Limited, was convicted of bribery and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, lifetime deprivation of political rights, confiscation of all personal assets. He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegal lending and fined 150,000 yuan. The death penalty with a two-year reprieve, lifetime deprivation of political rights, and confiscation of all personal assets were executed.
According to the court, from 2010 to 2023, Liu Liange abused his positions as Vice President, Vice Chairman, and President of the China Export-Import Bank, Vice Chairman, President, and Chairman of the Bank of China Limited to receive bribes totaling over 121 million yuan.
From late 2017 to early 2020, while serving as Vice Chairman, President of the China Export-Import Bank, and Chairman of the Bank of China Limited, Liu Liange unlawfully facilitated loans totaling over 33.2 billion yuan to related enterprises knowing they did not meet the loan conditions, resulting in a principal loss of over 190.7 million yuan.
In February 2023, Liu Liange was removed from the position of Party Secretary of the Bank of China and resigned from his positions as Chairman and Executive Director in March of the same year. On March 31st, he was reported to be under investigation, and in October of the same year, he was expelled from the Party and had his retirement benefits revoked before being subsequently arrested. His first trial took place on April 24th this year.
As reported by Caixin, insiders from China Construction Bank exposed Liu Liange’s involvement with the founder and controlling shareholder of Huaxing Capital, Bao Fan. Bao Fan was taken away for investigation in February last year and resigned from all positions of Huaxing Capital Holdings on February 2nd this year. On the evening of August 9th, Huaxing Capital announced that Bao Fan continued to cooperate with the investigation.
Public records show that Liu Liange, born in 1961, has been serving as Party Secretary and Chairman of the Bank of China since June 2019.
According to an official report in October last year, he extensively interfered in credit projects, unlawfully issued loans, engaged in illegal business operations, intervened in fund borrowing, illegally entered private clubs, retained classified information, received substantial illicit benefits, among other misconduct.
Following Liu Liange’s downfall, issues regarding his personal lifestyle have gradually surfaced. The official report cited his “moral decay and improper family background” without providing further details.
Chinese media previously reported that during Liu Liange’s tenure at the PBOC, he often asked female subordinates to come to his office for “heart-to-heart talks” at night, a habit that persisted during his time at the China Export-Import Bank and Bank of China.
It was also revealed by Chinese media that Liu Liange had gone through three divorces before marrying for the fourth time during his tenure at the Bank of China. The woman he married during his time at the Bank was rumored to be a former girlfriend of his close relative, and rumors circulated online that she was his son’s ex-girlfriend.