China Sentences Ex-City Party Chief to Death With Reprieve

(Bloomberg) — China has sentenced a former Communist Party city chief and securities regulator to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and insider trading, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

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Tong Daochi, who was named party chief for Sanya a few years after leaving the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was found to have taken more than 270 million yuan ($40 million) of bribes during his tenure in the southern city and at the regulator, when he offered individuals and companies assistance in stock listings, financing and other matters, according to the report.

Tong was involved in insider trading when he was deputy director of the CSRC’s issuance supervisory department, taking illegal profits amounting to more than 3.38 million yuan, CCTV said.

Under Chinese law, the reprieve means Tong’s death sentence may be commuted to imprisonment subject to his conduct during the two years.

Tong, 55, joined the CSRC in 2000 and worked there for the next 14 years. The last position he held at the regulator was head of its international affairs department. In 2014, he was appointed as assistant commerce minister. He became vice head of Hubei Province in 2016 and head of Sanya city in 2018.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been cracking down on corruption, with a recent focus on financial institutions and regulators. Lai Xiaomin, former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co., was executed in January last year for crimes including bribery.

(Updates with explanation of reprieve in the fourth paragraph)