Former ICBC vice president handed death sentence with reprieve for bribery

Zhang Hongli, former vice president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was on Wednesday sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, for accepting bribes.

He was found to have taken bribes worth over 177 million yuan (US$24.3 million) from 2011 to 2022, according to a court in the city of Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Zhang was deprived of political rights for life, all of his personal property would be confiscated, and all his illegal gains would be recovered and turned over to the state treasury, the court sentence read.

The court ruled that he had taken advantage of his former positions to assist others in matters such as loan financing and personnel arrangements while accepting bribes in return.

Zhang was placed under investigation in late 2023 and was expelled from the Communist Party of China in 2024.