Ex-China Mobile Chairman Gets Death Sentence

A former China Mobile executive who had confessed to accepting $2.6 million in bribes was given a death sentence on Tuesday. However, the sentence came with two years probation.

Earlier this year Li Hua turned himself in to police after admitting that he had received bribes of 16.48 million yuan ($2.6 mil.). Li had been the general manager of the Sichuan branch of the state-owned mobile carrier.

The death sentence may be illusory given the two year probation because such sentences typically become commuted to life imprisonment at the end of the probationary period.

China Mobile is China’s largest mobile operator, with 929 million subscribers. It’s recently announced profits of $9.6 billion for the first half of the year, making it the world’s largest and most profitable mobile operator. It is rumored to be in talks with Apple to begin selling iPhones in China.