Former chairman of China's chipmaking champion gets suspended death sentence in corruption and embezzlement case

The former billionaire chairman of Tsinghua Unigroup, Zhao Weiguo, has been handed a suspended death sentence after being found guilty of corruption and embezzlement. Tsinghua Unigroup, founded in 1988, was once the darling of Chinese chip manufacturing and the owner of numerous Chinese semiconductor outfits, notably YMTC and Unisoc, but was plagued by corruption allegations and investigations.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported the sentence passed down by the Intermediate People’s Court in the northeastern city of Jilin. According to the report, Zhao was sentenced to death, suspended for two years. The punishment in such cases is normally commuted to life imprisonment if he doesn't commit any further crimes during the suspension period.

Once thought to be worth nearly $2.8 billion, Zhao was accused of corruption and embezzlement by China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The Commission alleged that Zhao, "as a manager of a state-owned enterprise, was blinded by greed, acted recklessly, betrayed his duties and mission, misused public resources for personal gain, turned public property into private property, and regarded the state-owned enterprises he managed as private territory." He was also accused of deliberately seizing state-owned assets, illegally giving profitable business to relatives and friends, purchasing goods from said businesses at inflated prices, and more.

According to the CCTV's report, the court said that Zhao's activities involved "extremely huge sums" and "caused especially severe losses to state interests." CCTV also claimed that Zhao admitted guilt, had shown remorse, and had tried to return misappropriated funds, which allegedly included state assets worth $65 million and company losses worth $124 million.

Tsinghua Unigroup was supposed to be an integral part of China's 'Made in China 2025' initiative, a plan to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry, and was known for making high-profile and aggressive acquisitions funded by the state and bonds.

The company defaulted on $198 million in bonds in 2020 and by 2021 was facing bankruptcy, with debts to the tune of $31 billion. Zhao stepped down as chairman a year later, coinciding with reports of an investigation.

In March last year, YMTC claimed to have made a flash memory breakthrough in creating QLC NAND that matches the endurance of TLC NAND.

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