Former CNOOC executive sentenced to death with reprieve for taking bribes

A former CNOOC CEO, Yuan Guangyu, has been sentenced to death for taking bribes worth over $22.49 million, but the sentence has been suspended for two years.

​A former chief executive ​at state-owned oil and gas ‌giant CNOOC ​Ltd. has been sentenced to death for taking bribes but the sentence has been held in abeyance ‌for two years, China's state media Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Yuan Guangyu, 67, retired as chief executive of CNOOC in September 2019 after reaching the mandatory retirement ‌age. He was also a former deputy general manager of CNOOC's parent company, ‌China National Offshore Oil Corporation. In the ruling by the Xuzhou Intermediate People's Court, Yuan was also deprived of political rights for life, and all of his personal assets were ⁠confiscated, according ​to Xinhua.

The ⁠court found that from 2001 to 2022, Yuan illegally accepted money and valuables, either directly ⁠or through others, worth more than 152 million yuan ($22.49 million), by using his positions to ​help companies and individuals with matters such as project contracts, business operations, ⁠and job adjustments. The court said Yuan confessed after being detained, voluntarily admitted some crimes that ⁠investigators ​had not yet discovered, and returned the illegal gains.

Because of these mitigating factors, the court sentenced him to death but decided that the ⁠sentence would be reviewed after a reprieve period of two years. A death sentence ⁠with a reprieve ⁠in China is typically commuted to life imprisonment if the offender commits no crimes during the period of reprieve. ($1 = ‌6.7580 Chinese ‌yuan renminbi)