China Huarong Asset Management is one of China's largest distressed-debt managers, meaning it handles loans that are considered unlikely to be repaid.

It was one of four companies set up in 1999 by the Chinese government to clean up the banking sector. Since then, the group has diversified into areas including investment and credit, and real estate.

China Huarong's largest shareholder is China's Ministry of Finance.

The former chairman of the group, Bai Tianhui, has been found guilty of taking bribes worth about 1.1bn yuan ($140.6m; £105m) by the courts, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Bai Tianhui has been sentenced to death, the state broadcaster said, citing a court in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.

The death penalty is rare in China for a senior business figure, although such sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment.

Bai Tianhui's sentence matches that of former investment fund manager Lai Xiaomin, who was executed in 2021. Lai was found by the courts to have taken 215m euros in bribes.

He was also found guilty of "bigamy".

State television showed footage of an apartment in Beijing said to belong to Lai Xiaomin, with safes and cabinets stuffed with bundles of cash.

China Huarong has made headlines in recent years because of its $238bn of debt and irregular accounting. In 2021, trading in its shares was suspended for nine months in Hong Kong.

Several other senior figures in China's banking and finance industry have been accused of corruption in recent months.

As China's economy slows, financial malpractice has become a focus of a wider anti-corruption drive by President Xi Jinping.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) said on Tuesday that "financial risks" were "a matter of national security" and warned officials they "will be held accountable" if they fail "to shoulder the responsibility" of "ensuring the country's financial security".

Officials "at all levels" will be urged to "ensure that various tasks for strengthening financial regulation in all domains are implemented", the CCP leadership added.

"Regulations must be enforced to the letter and violators must be held accountable. Those who fail to perform their duties should be held accountable and punished," the CCP warned, as some credit rating agencies have downgraded the country's outlook to "negative" amid "heightened risks" to public finances.

Read Also: China and Equatorial Guinea strengthen relations in Beijing (Portuguese version)