Former vice-president of ICBC sentenced to death

Zhang Hongli, former vice-president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for the crime of accepting bribes by a court in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

The Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou City said in a statement that from 2011 to 2022, Zhang took advantage of his positions in the bank to seek profits for some departments and individuals in various matters such as loan financing and job arrangement and then accepted money and gifts worth more than 177 million yuan ($24.44 million) in return by himself or through others.

The actions of Zhang have constituted the crime of bribery. As the bribery amount is particularly huge, the criminal circumstances are particularly serious, the social impact is particularly bad, causing significant losses to the interests of the country and the people, and he should be sentenced to death, according to the statement.

Considering that Zhang truthfully confessed his crimes after being brought to justice, voluntarily disclosed most of the bribery facts that the investigating authorities had not yet grasped, admitted guilt, showed repentance and actively returned the proceeds of the crime. Also, most of the illicit money and property have been recovered. Therefore, he is sentenced to death with a reprieve, it added.

Zhang, 59, a native of Heilongjiang province, was placed under disciplinary and supervisory investigation in November 2023, and was expelled from the Communist Party of China in May. Three months later, he was indicted on suspicion of taking bribes in Hangzhou.

The court also deprived him of political rights for life, and ordered the confiscation of all his personal property.