On Wednesday, September 25th, the former chairman of China’s large state-owned financial holding company, Everbright Group, Tang Shuangning, stood trial for corruption and bribery in the first instance, with charges of embezzling 3.015 million yuan and accepting bribes exceeding 11.02 million yuan.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Tangshan City, Hebei Province, held a public hearing on September 25th for the case of corruption and bribery involving Tang Shuangning, the former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Everbright Group.
The Tangshan City Procuratorate accused Tang Shuangning of taking advantage of his position as Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the People’s Bank of China in April 2003 to embezzle public property worth 3.015 million yuan for himself.
From 2000 to 2017, Tang Shuangning, through his positions as Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the People’s Bank of China, Deputy Party Secretary of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Everbright Group, and Chairman of China Everbright Bank, directly or through others, received more than 11.02 million yuan in property.
The prosecution requested that Tang Shuangning be held criminally responsible for the crimes of corruption and bribery.
Tang Shuangning admitted guilt in court. The court announced an adjournment and will schedule a sentencing for a later date.
Born in October 1954, Tang Shuangning served as Vice Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission in 2003, Chairman and Party Secretary of Everbright Group in 2007, and retired in December 2017.
Tang Shuangning was officially investigated on July 15, 2023; on January 6 of this year, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and arrested on January 15.
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 of the previous year. Within just over three months, both former and current chairmen of Everbright Group were investigated, shocking both internal and external stakeholders of the company. According to Caixin, the investigation of both former chairmen of Everbright Group has left insiders worried and concerned that more dirt may be unearthed during the probe.