**Zhang Youxia, former first-ranked vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, was placed under official investigation in January 2026 for “serious violations of discipline and law,” including undermining the CMC chairman responsibility system, corruption, and related factional issues, after disappearing from public view in late 2025.** This followed Xi Jinping’s broader anti-corruption drive targeting senior PLA officers, which has removed multiple CMC members appointed in 2022. Comparable cases, such as those of former defense ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, moved from investigation to suspended death sentences (typically commuted to life imprisonment without parole) over roughly two years. As of mid-August 2026, no verdict or formal sentencing for Zhang has been announced in state media or credible reporting, consistent with the deliberate pace of elite military justice proceedings. The 91.5% trader consensus on “No” (no prison sentence before 2027) reflects the extended timeline typical of these politically sensitive cases, Zhang’s advanced age (born 1950), and the absence of any accelerated resolution signals amid ongoing leadership consolidation ahead of the 2027 PLA centenary goals. While further action remains possible, the procedural record indicates formal sentencing is unlikely to occur within the remaining months of 2026.