Former Chairman Tang Shuangning of China’s large state-owned financial holding company, Everbright Group, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption and bribery, 17 months after his downfall.
On December 10th, the Intermediate People’s Court in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, publicly pronounced the verdict on the corruption and bribery case of Tang Shuangning, former Party Secretary and Chairman of China Everbright Group.
Tang Shuangning was sentenced to 5 years in prison for corruption with a fine of 200,000 yuan (RMB), and 10 years and 6 months for bribery with a fine of 1.1 million yuan. The decision was to execute a 12-year prison term with a total fine of 1.3 million yuan.
The court stated that in April 2003, Tang Shuangning, taking advantage of his position as the director of the Banking Supervision Department of the People’s Bank of China, misappropriated public property worth 3.015 million yuan for his personal gain.
From 2000 to 2017, Tang Shuangning, while holding positions such as Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the People’s Bank of China, Vice Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chairman of China Everbright Group, and Chairman of China Everbright Bank Limited, used his influence to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in matters such as job adjustments and obtaining loans, receiving a total of over 11.02 million yuan.
Tang Shuangning was officially toppled in July 2023. He was expelled from the Communist Party of China on January 6th this year, arrested on January 15th, and had his first trial on September 25th, where he pleaded guilty in court.
Born in October 1954, Tang Shuangning became Vice Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission in 2003, Chairman and Party Secretary of Everbright Group in 2007, and retired in December 2017.
After Tang Shuangning’s retirement, Li Xiaopeng took over as Chairman of Everbright Group. Prior to Tang Shuangning’s investigation, Li Xiaopeng was investigated in April last year. With both former and current chairmen of Everbright Group being investigated within a span of over three months, it has shocked both the internal and external environment of Everbright Group. According to a report by Caixin, the investigation of both former and current leaders of Everbright Group has left insiders worried, fearing that more dirt might be uncovered.