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China Insurance Boss Is Latest Target of Xi’s Corruption Crackdown

Wang Bin was sentenced to death “with two-year reprieve,” which means life in jail with no chance of parole.

The former boss of China’s biggest life insurance company has become the latest business leader imprisoned as part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption. Wang Bin, who had been chairman of China Life Insurance, was found guilty of taking some $45 million in bribes and hiding away millions more in illegal foreign accounts. According to a court ruling seen by the BBC, he was sentenced to death with a “two-year reprieve,” which effectively means a life term with no chance of parole. The BBC noted that Wang was the latest in a growing line of financial industry leaders punished for corruption, including Lai Xiaomin, the former chairman of a state-controlled asset management company who was executed after being convicted of corruption and bigamy. Also caught up in Xi’s crackdown is Bao Fan, a high-profile banking billionaire who disappeared in February and is said to be cooperating with investigators.