China executes former State official Li Jianping for $421 million fraud

China on Tuesday, December 1,executed Li Jianping, a former official in the north Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who was convicted in the largest-ever corruption case in the country totalling more than $421 million.

According to the Indian Express, the death sentence of Li, former secretary of the ruling Communist Party’s working committee for the Hohhot Economic and Technological Development Zone, was initially issued in September 2022 and upheld on appeal in August 2024.

Tuesday’s execution followed the approval of the Supreme People’s Court and was carried out by a court in Inner Mongolia, according to a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Li, aged 64, was found guilty of embezzling three billion yuan (over $421 million) in illegal gains, marking the largest sum involved in a single corruption case in China’s history.

Since taking power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made the anti-corruption campaign a cornerstone of his governance.

Official media reports indicate that over a million party officials, including two defence ministers and dozens of military personnel, have faced punishment under the crackdown.