The former president of China Citic Bank has pleaded guilty to allegations of taking nearly 1 billion yuan in bribes.
Ex-Citic Bank president Sun Deshun plead guilty to the bribery charges, according to a trial court in Jinan, Shandong province.
Sun was accused of abusing his position at several state-owned banks – including ICBC and Bank of Communications, alongside Citic Bank – by offering favorable loans and credit to businesses between 2003 and 2019 for bribes totaling 980 million yuan ($154 million).
Recipients of the funds include several large private firms while they were facing financial troubles such as fallen conglomerate HNA Group, according to a «Caixin» report citing unnamed sources, which entered bankruptcy restructuring in January last year.
Citic Crackdown
Since 2019, Citic Group and its subsidiaries have faced a series of anti-corruption probes which have resulted in other legal actions, including the sentencing of former executive director Zhao Jingwen to 18 years in prison and a 3.2 million yuan fine in September last year.
Sun also came under investigation in the same month, seven months after he resigned from the top role at Citic Bank.
