15 months after being removed from office, former Chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Wang Yilin, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting bribes exceeding 35.01 million yuan.
On May 13, the Intermediate People’s Court of Ordos City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region publicly announced the verdict of Wang Yilin, former Party Secretary and Chairman of CNPC, in a corruption case. Wang Yilin was sentenced to 13 years in prison for bribery and fined 3 million yuan.
The court stated that from 1996 to 2020, Wang Yilin took advantage of his positions as Director of Exploration and Development Research Institute of Xinjiang Oil Administration, Deputy Director of Xinjiang Oil Administration, General Manager of Xinjiang Oilfield Branch of China National Petroleum Corporation, Vice President of CNPC, Chairman of CNOOC, and Chairman of CNPC, to assist individuals in matters such as job adjustments, project contracting, and business operations, in exchange for illegal gains totaling over 35.01 million yuan.
In February 2024, Wang Yilin was investigated, becoming the “sixth tiger” of 2024. On July 31, he was expelled from the Communist Party, deprived of his benefits, and referred to the judiciary. The first-instance trial was held on February 20 this year.
Public information shows that Wang Yilin was born in September 1956 in Taishan, Ganyu District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. He graduated from the Exploration Department of East China Petroleum Institute in 1982 with a major in Petroleum Geology and Exploration. In the same year, he started working and obtained a PhD in Mineral Exploration and Exploration while in office from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Petroleum (Beijing) in 2002.
In June 1996, Wang Yilin became the Deputy Director and Chief Geological Engineer of the Xinjiang Oil Administration. Since September 1999, he has been the General Manager of Xinjiang Oilfield Branch. In July 2003, he became the Assistant General Manager of CNPC and in December of the same year, he was promoted to Vice President of CNPC. In July 2004, he concurrently served as the Safety Director of CNPC. In November 2005, he was appointed as a CNPC Director.
In April 2011, Wang Yilin became the Chairman of CNOOC and CNOOC Limited. In April 2015, he was appointed the Chairman of CNPC. In June 2015, he also served as the Chairman of CNPC. He was relieved of his duties in January 2020.
In December 2020, Wang Yilin became an external director of China Three Gorges Corporation for a three-year term. He resigned from this position in February 2024.