Ex-Everbright Executive and Wife Took 4.29 Million Yuan in Salary Bribes
Caixin Global · Shan Yuxiao Published Nov 6 ·
Newly released judicial findings detail how nominal corporate appointments rewarded Zhang Huayu’s help securing loans and expanding business. He was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison in 2023
1. [para. 1][para. 2] China’s top judicial authorities disclosed details of a corruption case against Zhang Huayu, former deputy president and deputy Communist Party chief of China Everbright Bank. Zhang and his wife collected 4.29 million yuan ($640,000) in salaries through nominal corporate appointments that rewarded his help securing loans and expanding business. Zhang was sentenced in August 2023 to 12½ years in prison for bribery and accepting bribes through the use of influence.
2. [para. 3] On Nov.5, the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate released six illustrative cases involving new or concealed forms of official corruption. One identified the defendant only by his surname, Zhang. Caixin confirmed through his positions, career history, case amounts, and sentencing dates that he was Zhang Huayu.
3. [para. 4][para. 5] The newly disclosed findings describe two arrangements: a corporate board position Zhang took after leaving the bank and an independent-director appointment secured for his wife. Authorities ruled that neither performed substantive work equal to the pay and counted their entire salaries as bribes. Zhang resigned shortly before retirement; anti-corruption authorities called it a model of officials preparing lucrative positions before leaving office to escape scrutiny.
Read the full story at Caixin Global · All coverage of this story