Wei Pengyuan

Wei Pengyuan (; born November 20, 1959), from Liaoning province Huludao city, was a former Chinese politician who was sentenced to death in 2016 for corruption, bribery, and hoarding more than 200 million yuan (around $30 million USD) in cash. Wei had served in the National Development and Reform Commission, and his corruption case was one of the largest in China's history, creating a record in cash assets seized at the time.

In total, Wei accumulated 300 million yuan in embezzled funds.

Biography

Wei Pengyuan graduated from Fuxin Mining Institute (阜新矿业学院), now Liaoning Technical University. After graduation, he successively worked in the Beijing Coal Design Institute, the Planning Department of the Ministry of Coal Industry, the Industry Planning Department of the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Basic Industry Department of the State Planning Commission, and the Coal Division of the Energy Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission. Around the same time, Hao Weiping (郝卫平) became deputy director of the Nuclear Power Department. Later both Wei Pengyuan and Hao Weiping would be detained by authorities for corruption around the same time.

At the NEA, Wei's responsibilities included coal mining project approval, contracting, and infrastructure. However, there were a lot of problems with Wei and his processes. The stash included both Chinese renminbi and foreign currency. The apartment only had a single bed and no other furniture.

In total the stockpile of over 200 million yuan in cash weighed more than 2.2 tons, and if stacked vertically in 100 yuan notes, the pile would reach 200 meters, equivalent to nearly two-thirds the height of the Eiffel Tower (324 meters). When stacked in a pile, the total of more than 300 million yuan Wei took in bribes would reach 300 meters, close to the height of the Eiffel Tower, while surpassing the height of the CCTV Headquarters, Big Ben, and Taj Mahal.

According to the Beijing Youth Daily, if the stash was laid end to end in 100 yuan notes, it would reach 96 miles, equal to the sum of the lengths of Beijing's 3rd Ring Road and 5th Ring Road.

Death sentence On October 17, 2016, the Intermediate People's Court of Baoding City in Hebei sentenced Wei to death for abusing his power for coal projects and taking 212 million in bribes.

NDRC scandal Wei was one of 11 officials from the NDRC to be charged with bribery. Song Lin, the chairman of China Resources group, was also detained for graft around the same time as Wei and Xu.

The head of the energy administration, Liu Tienan, was also sentenced to life in prison for corruption and taking 36 million yuan in bribes.

Wei and Liu's case was part of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign to root out 'tigers' and 'flies' alike, Chinese state television also broadcast footage of Wei's stash of 200 million yuan in bribes found at his apartment.