Chinese bankers told to expect crackdown
Chinese authorities telling top banking executives to expect a deeper corruption crackdown on the $60-trillion financial sector suggest that President Xi Jinping’s antigraft campaign is continuing to evolve.
The recent probe of the former chair of China’s fourthlargest bank, an announcement of inspections at several stateowned enterprises and the disappearance of star banker Bao Fan all suggest that the campaign may pick up steam.
At least 20 financial executives have been probed or penalised since late February. Here are some of the most highprofile cases in recent years:
Liu Liange, Bank of China
Liu, removed from Bank of China’s party chief role in February, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law”, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a onesentence statement last week.
Few details are known about the probe into the former chair, the first time in decades that a top executive at one of China’s “big four” state-owned banks has been investigated.
Wang Bin, China Life Insurance
Wang was prosecuted by the people’s procuratorate of Jinan in January after a probe into allegations of bribery and concealed offshore deposits, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. He was placed under investigation in January 2022, and later expelled from the Communist Party and arrested.
China’s antigraft agency had accused the former chair of China Life Insurance of refusing to implement policies that could prevent financial risks, and of intervention in market activities.
Fan Yifei, People’s Bank of China
The deputy governor of China’s central bank was placed under investigation by the antigraft agency in November for “suspected severe violations of discipline and laws”. Though no statement or announcement was made by the central bank, Fan’s name is no longer on the list of top executives on the bank’s website.
Cai Esheng, former banking regulator
Cai was prosecuted in June 2022 on charges of taking “huge” bribes and abuse of power. Before his retirement in 2013, the former vice-head was in charge of supervising nonbank financial institutions, including trust firms and bad-debt managers such as China Huarong Asset Management.
Hu Huaibang, China Development Bank
Hu was sentenced to life imprisonment in early 2021 on charges of corruption. He was found guilty of taking bribes totalling 85.5-million yuan ($12.4m) during his tenure at China’s largest policy bank between 2009 and 2019.
A China Central Television report in 2018 also identified the former chair for helping facilitate a $4.8bn credit line to the now failed conglomerate CEFC China Energy.
Lai Xiaomin, China Huarong
Lai was condemned to death in early 2021 in one of the most severe sentences in Xi’s anticorruption drive. Charges against the former chair included taking 1.79-billion yuan of bribes in 2008 and 2018. Lai was also found guilty of corruption and bigamy.
Lai oversaw China Huarong from 2012 until he was placed under investigation in 2018. Huarong, one of four bad-debt managers set up in 1999 to help clean up China’s banking system, had deviated from its mandate under Lai and later received a $6.6bn government-orchestrated bailout.