China places former deputy chief of securities regulator under investigation

BEIJING – China's anti-graft watchdog has started investigating Fang Xinghai, a former vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), as Beijing widens its crackdown on corruption in the finance sector.

Fang, who has a PhD in economics from Stanford University and has worked at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law", the watchdog said in a statement on Friday (July 24), using a euphemism for corruption.

Fang could not be reached for comment.

The probe expanded the list of high-ranking finance-sector officials who were caught up in China's sweeping campaign to clean up corruption and consolidate the central leadership's supervisory control over the industry.

Officials placed under investigation in recent years include the CSRC's former chair Yi Huiman and Zhou Liang, formerly a deputy chief of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

Fang, 62, was appointed as the CSRC's vice chairman in 2015 following a stock market crash, and held the role until 2024.

Under his watch, China opened its stock and bond markets wider to foreign investors and introduced a slew of derivative products.

Before joining the securities watchdog, he held senior positions in the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and Shanghai Stock Exchange. 

Earlier in his career he also worked for state-owned China Construction Bank.

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