Former Sinochem executive gets 19 years for multiple crimes

Feng Zhibin, former deputy general manager of Sinochem Group, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Monday by the Daqing Intermediate People's Court in Heilongjiang province for multiple crimes.

Feng was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 6 million yuan ($896,112) for accepting bribes, and to eight years in prison and fined 1 million yuan for accepting bribes by taking advantage of his influence. He was also sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power by personnel of a State-owned company.

After the sentences were combined, Feng was sentenced to 19 years in prison and fined 7 million yuan, according to the ruling announced by the court. His illicit gains and related interests will be confiscated and turned over to the State treasury.

The court found that from 2003 to 2022, Feng took advantage of his positions at Sinochem Group to seek benefits for individuals and organizations in matters including business operations and equity acquisitions, and accepted bribes totaling more than 60.71 million yuan in return.

From 2022 to 2025, after leaving the group, Feng used the influence of his former positions, either personally or through others, to provide benefits to relevant parties in project contracting, accepting bribes totaling more than 9.87 million yuan.

Additionally, between 2011 and 2012, while serving as a personnel of a State-owned company, Feng violated regulations and abused his power, causing severe losses to the enterprise and particularly heavy losses to national interests.

The court said Feng had committed the crimes of accepting bribes, accepting bribes by taking advantage of his influence, and abuse of power by personnel of a State-owned company, and should be punished severely.

However, the court said it had taken into account that Feng had refused to accept some bribes, confessed to his crimes, voluntarily reported most of the bribery activities that investigators were unaware of, and actively returned his illicit gains. These factors warranted leniency in sentencing, it said.

Feng, 62, joined Sinochem Group in 2000 and held various positions at the company. He became chairman of Sinochem International Corporation in 2016. In 2018, he applied to resign from his positions in the group for personal reasons.

Feng was placed under investigation in July 2025 and expelled from the Communist Party of China in January 2026. He was indicted on multiple criminal charges in April and stood trial on June 9, when he pleaded guilty to the offenses.

Established in 1950 and headquartered in Beijing, Sinochem Group is a major State-owned enterprise under the supervision of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

It is a leading operator in the petroleum and chemical industries, as well as a comprehensive enterprise in agricultural inputs, including seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and modern agricultural services. It also has a significant presence in urban development operations and non-banking financial sectors.