China’s powerful financial sector has officially been put on notice.
Xiang Junbo, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), was placed under investigation for “severe disciplinary violations” last week, according to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s top anti-corruption organ.
So far, Xiang is the highest-ranking cadre from the financial industry caught in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.
The inquiry into Xiang could open the floodgates on future investigations into the Chinese financial industry. Sources close to Zhongnanhai—the headquarters compound of the CCP and the State Council—told The Epoch Times that Xi is targeting corruption within the financial sector in 2017 and Xiang is the first “tiger” captured in the effort.
Sources suggested that Xiang’s crimes are “very serious” and relate to the industry’s frenzied asset purchases in recent years that exacerbated stock market volatility. The investigation could also lead to corruption implicating top officials at other financial regulatory bodies, such as the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
