Prosecutors said in January that Tang Shuangning, 70, had been arrested on criminal charges after a lengthy investigation into his conduct by the national corruption authority.

A court in the northern city of Tangshan on Tuesday found Tang guilty of embezzlement and bribery and sentenced him to 12 years in prison, state broadcaster CCTV said.

In April 2003, Tang took possession of three million yuan ($414,000) of public property "for his own use" while working at China's central bank, the court found, according to CCTV.

In addition, from 2000 to 2017, he "illegally accepted property totalling over 11.02 million yuan" while working in several positions including at Everbright.

Although Tang's gains were "extremely large", the court decided to mitigate his sentence after he confessed and assisted with the investigation, CCTV said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a relentless campaign to root out official corruption since coming to power more than a decade ago.

Proponents say the policy promotes clean governance, while critics say it helps Xi purge political rivals.

mjw/oho/mtp

CHINA EVERBRIGHT