Kou Wei, former general manager of China Datang Corporation Ltd, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Wednesday for multiple crimes, including bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The Intermediate People's Court in Xing'an League announced the conviction and sentence for the 64-year-old native of Yunnan province, detailing his offenses.

According to the ruling, Kou accepted more than 154 million yuan ($22.4 million) in bribes from 1996 to 2024 in exchange for using his positions to benefit individuals and departments in project contracting, business operations and job promotions.

From September 2023 to November 2024, after leaving his position, Kou exploited his former authority and influence as chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China to ask other officials to help organizations and individuals secure project contracts and other benefits. He received more than 9.05 million yuan in return.

Additionally, from 2001 to 2012, Kou used his roles as general manager and chairman of Yunnan Lancang River Hydropower Development Co to improperly guarantee bank loans for subsidiary companies to buy stocks and invest in securities, resulting in losses.

To cover up the unauthorized guarantees and losses, Kou and others fabricated transactions to divert more than 138 million yuan from hydropower station construction funds. Of that amount, more than 55.93 million yuan was taken illegally by Kou and his associates, while over 82.61 million yuan was used to offset earlier losses, causing significant damage to state-owned assets.

Based on these crimes, the court handed Kou a suspended death sentence for bribery, eight years in prison for using influence for bribery, 12 years for embezzlement and four years for abuse of power by a state-owned company official.

He was also fined 4 million yuan for using influence to accept bribes and for embezzlement.

The court combined the penalties and imposed a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. Kou was also deprived of political rights for life, and all his personal assets were confiscated. His illicit gains and related proceeds will be turned over to the state treasury.

The court said Kou deserved severe punishment because the amounts involved were "extremely large" and the losses caused to the state and the public were "extremely huge."

However, the court showed leniency because some bribery attempts were unsuccessful, Kou confessed to crimes not yet known to investigators and he actively returned illicit gains.

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life imprisonment if no further crimes are committed during the two-year reprieve period. The sentence may be further reduced for good behavior.

Public records show Kou, a member of the Communist Party of China, began his career in August 1983 and held various positions in Yunnan's power sector. In July 2016, he became general manager of the State Grid Corporation of China.

In 2020, he served as chairman and general manager of China Datang Corporation Ltd, one of the country's largest power producers, with businesses spanning electricity, coal and chemicals, finance, environmental protection, trade, logistics and emerging sectors.

Kou was placed under investigation in December 2024. In June 2025, he was expelled from the Communist Party. Five months later, he was prosecuted.

The court publicly heard the case in January, with more than 20 people, including national lawmakers and political advisers, attending the trial.