"Upon approval from the Supreme People's Court, Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court carried out the death penalty against Lai Xiaomin in accordance with the law in the morning of Jan 29, 2021," the court in Tianjin said in a statement on its official Weibo account.

Lai was sentenced to death over corruption charges and was accused of taking bribes up to 1.79 billion yuan (about $278 million). Lai's crimes also included bigamy, according to court documents.

China's supreme court confirmed Lai's death sentence in early January.