The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court has rendered judgment against Li Quan, who previously served as Party chief and chairman of New China Life Insurance Company. Li’s criminal conduct spanned over a decade across multiple roles within the asset management corporate structure, prompting the court to impose overlapping sentences.
For the embezzlement charges, reported by China Daily, Li received a life imprisonment term paired with permanent political rights deprivation and full personal asset forfeiture. The court separately adjudicated the bribery allegations with a death sentence incorporating a two-year reprieve, similarly coupled with lifetime political restrictions and asset confiscation. When applied concurrently, these sentences resulted in the death sentence with reprieve as the binding punishment, accompanied by permanent political incapacity and asset seizure.
Factual findings by the court established that between 2015 and 2024, Li illegally obtained more than 108 million yuan through his positions at New China Asset Management Co. and New China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company. The second category of criminal conduct – bribery – involved Li receiving over 105 million yuan between 2010 and 2023 for facilitating business arrangements and investment subscriptions favouring specific entities and individuals.
The court determined that recovered embezzled amounts would be returned to victimised institutions, with any deficits remaining subject to collection efforts. Confiscated bribery proceeds and accrued interest were directed to state coffers.
While characterising the offense amounts as “extraordinarily large” and acknowledging “significant harm to national and public interests,” the court applied a two-year reprieve based on specific factors presented during trial proceedings. These included instances of incomplete criminal attempts, Li’s voluntary disclosure of previously unknown bribery conduct, demonstrated remorse, and his willingness to restore misappropriated assets.
The Li case reflects a pronounced acceleration in financial sector prosecutions across China. Government agencies reported that 5,081 corruption-related prosecutions occurred in 2024 across finance, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure domains, with bribery-specific prosecutions reaching 3,068 cases – 18.3% higher than the prior year.
The enforcement momentum has intensified considerably in 2025. Statistics indicate that during the first quarter alone, anti-corruption authorities initiated 220,000 investigations targeting government officials suspected of accepting bribes, while 7,027 private sector individuals faced investigation for providing such bribes, resulting in 954 criminal prosecutions.
Broader case disposition data demonstrates that 30,000 corruption and bribery matters were concluded in 2024, affecting 33,000 individuals, representing 22.3% growth year-over-year. Specialised categories show comparable trajectories: 8,474 private sector embezzlement and bribery cases involving 10,873 individuals increased 25%, while 2,473 bribery payment cases affecting 2,873 individuals rose 18.6%.
Li resigned from New China Life Insurance positions in August 2023. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission formally announced investigations into Li in September 2024 regarding “serious violations of Party discipline and national laws.” The Shandong Provincial People’s Procuratorate authorised arrest in October 2024, with the Jinan People’s Procuratorate initiating formal prosecution in January 2025. Public trial proceedings occurred in May, during which prosecution evidence underwent defence scrutiny, culminating in Li’s guilty plea and final statement.
The enforcement environment extends to regulatory agencies themselves, with two former National Medical Products Administration officials similarly investigated in the first half of 2025 for discipline and law violations, although customary practices have limited investigation disclosure.
