A Chinese court sentenced former senior official Yang Youlin to death for accepting over 2.2bn yuan (£242m) in bribes in one of the country's largest corruption cases in recent years.The Changzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu province delivered its judgment on Monday. It found Yang guilty of embezzlement, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds, and abuse of power.In addition to handing him the death sentence, the court permanently stripped Yang of his political rights and ordered all of his personal assets confiscated. Authorities said all illegal gains recovered so far had been handed over to the state while efforts would continue to seize any remaining proceeds linked to his crimes.The court said Yang had abused his authority over a 30-year period until 2023 when he held influential positions in Nanjing, including as executive deputy director of the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone's management committee.Prosecutors alleged that Yang used his positions to favour companies and individuals in exchange for payments. They accused him of manipulating engineering contracts, land transfers, business projects and financial transactions to secure huge kickbacks.Apart from accepting bribes worth over 2.2bn yuan, he embezzled 12m yuan (£1.3m) in public funds between 2014 and 2016, paid more than 25m yuan (£2.7m) in bribes to fellow officials, diverted 15m yuan (£1.6m) of public money for private business activities, and caused the state a loss of 23m yuan (£2.5m) through illegal land fee refunds and unauthorised property demolitions. Yang admitted guilt and expressed remorse during his public trial earlier this year.China has pursued an extensive anti-corruption campaign under president Xi Jinping for over a decade, investigating millions of officials across the country's bureaucracy. While severe punishments are common, death sentences for economic crimes remain relatively rare and are typically reserved for the most serious cases involving exceptionally large sums.Yang joins a small group of officials to receive the death penalty for corruption. Former Inner Mongolia official Li Jianping was executed in 2024 after conviction in a case involving more than 3bn yuan (£330m). Former Shanxi vice mayor Zhang Zhongsheng received a death sentence in 2018 for accepting bribes exceeding 1bn yuan (£110m), although the punishment was commuted to life imprisonment after he returned the stolen assets and assisted investigators. Former China Huarong chairman Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 after being convicted of receiving 1.79bn yuan (£197m) in bribes.