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China’s anti-graft watchdog has launched an investigation into the former chair of the country’s securities regulator, the latest official to be swept up in President Xi Jinping’s corruption campaign.
Yi Huiman was ousted from his post as chair and party secretary of the China Securities Regulatory Commission last year amid a steep drawdown in the domestic stock market.
Before leading the CSRC, Yi was chair of the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, whose former executives have been targeted in corruption probes in recent years.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Saturday said Yi was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, a phrase often used in corruption probes, and was under investigation.
Yi took over as chair of the CSRC in 2019 and his removal was widely seen by the financial industry as Beijing picking a scapegoat to blame for the multiyear drawdown in stocks. His predecessor, Liu Shiyu, was also removed after three years and investigated.
Frequent leadership changes at the CSRC have reinforced its reputation as a precarious post. The chair is expected to both police market participants and maintain stability, yet they lack direct authority over the state-backed “national team” funds that are called on to prop up share prices during bouts of volatility.
Yi’s case makes him the latest target of Xi’s anti-corruption drive, a campaign that first swept up many of his political rivals and has continued at a relentless pace after 13 years in power.
In recent years the CCDI, China’s top corruption watchdog, has turned its focus to the financial industry, detaining and jailing dozens of top bankers. At ICBC, which Yi led before taking over at the CSRC, at least a dozen former executives have faced corruption probes.
The bank’s international arm in particular has been targeted, leading one Chinese media site to headline an article: “Former executives at ICBC International are falling one after another”.
Detained bankers from the group include its former vice-chair Zhang Hongli, who was given a life sentence this year for taking bribes.
Cong Lin, another former executive, was detained by Chinese authorities in 2022 and has not been seen since.
