Former BAIC chairman Xu Heyi has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being convicted of bribery and money laundering in China.
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Former BAIC chairman Xu Heyi was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
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He was convicted of bribery and money laundering by a Beijing court.
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His political rights were revoked for life and all his personal property was ordered confiscated.
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The ruling comes amid China’s continuing crackdown on corruption in state-owned companies.
Former chairman of Chinese state-owned automaker BAIC Group, Xu Heyi, has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being convicted of bribery and money laundering.
The Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court handed down the judgment on Monday, September 28, 2026, in a case involving the former automotive executive.
The court sentenced Xu to death for bribery but suspended the execution for two years. He was also sentenced to two years in prison and fined 200,000 yuan for money laundering.
The court combined the punishments and ordered that Xu’s final sentence would be death with a two-year reprieve.
He was also stripped of his political rights for life, while all his personal property was ordered confiscated.
The court further ordered that the proceeds and interest obtained from his bribery offences be confiscated and handed over to China’s state treasury.
China’s death-with-reprieve system allows execution to be suspended for two years. Reuters reported that such sentences can typically be commuted to life imprisonment, depending on the convict’s conduct during the reprieve period.
The court did not immediately provide details in its published judgment on the amount of money involved in the bribery or the specific transactions through which the money was laundered.
Xu, who is 68, was a prominent figure in China’s automobile industry and previously headed BAIC Group, one of the country’s major state-owned vehicle manufacturers.
BAIC has major automotive operations and partnerships involving international manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. During Xu’s time in senior leadership, the group expanded its business and international presence.
Xu’s career at BAIC spanned more than a decade. He became chairman and Party secretary of the group and was also associated with major BAIC-linked companies, including Beijing Benz and Beijing Hyundai.
His downfall comes as Chinese authorities continue a wide-ranging campaign against corruption among senior officials and executives of state-owned enterprises.
Reuters reported that his conviction is part of a broader push targeting corruption in major state-owned companies, where senior executives have faced investigations and prosecutions for bribery and other financial crimes.
The case also highlights the severity of China’s punishment for serious corruption offences. In recent years, several senior Chinese officials and executives have received death sentences, including suspended death sentences, in corruption cases.
For Xu, the two-year reprieve means the death sentence has been imposed but its execution is suspended. If the applicable conditions are met during that period, the punishment can be commuted under Chinese law.
For now, the court’s ruling means Xu will lose his personal assets and political rights and remain subject to the suspended death sentence while the legal process continues.
