Chen Tonghai, the former head of Sinopec, China’s largest company, has been given a suspended death sentence after being convicted of taking $28.8m (€20.4m, £17.5m) in bribes over his eight years as a senior executive.

Mr Chen was chairman of state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Group, better known as Sinopec, from 1999 until his detention in 2007 as he tried to flee the country.