On February 7, 2024, Tian Huiyu, a former president of China Merchants Bank Co. (CMB), was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, facing complete seizure of his financial assets, deprivation of all political rights, and fines totaling 308.5 million yuan (US$42.9 million). The charges against him included bribery, abuse of power, insider trading, and leaking inside information.

During a trial held in the city of Changde in Hunan province, the court found Tian Huiyu guilty of abusing his position at CMB and its affiliate, China Cinda Asset Management Co. He was charged with taking bribes totaling 210 million yuan ($29.5 million) and unfairly gaining 290 million yuan ($40.8 million) by using insider information in share trading. Tian was also accused of making personal gains from CMB’s undisclosed shareholdings in Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) during the period when CMB brokered its public offering process.

In April 2022, Tian was removed from top positions at the bank. Subsequently, in October 2022, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office due to serious violations of party discipline and laws.

Tian, who assumed management of CMB in 2013, played a significant role in expanding its activities in the investment and asset management sector. In China, suspended death sentences are typically converted to life imprisonment when their term expires.