China’s Former Securities Regulator Indicted as Corruption Sweep Widens

China’s former securities regulator chief Yi Huiman has been formally prosecuted on bribery charges, becoming the latest senior figure linked to the China Securities Regulatory Commission to fall amid an expanding anti-corruption campaign targeting the country’s financial oversight apparatus.

On Sept. 30, Chinese prosecutors announced on state media that Yi, 61, had been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes and indicted by prosecutors in Qingdao, Shandong Province.

According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Yi allegedly used positions he held at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and later as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, to provide benefits to others in exchange for illegally accepting “an especially large amount” of money. Prosecutors said the alleged benefits involved matters including personnel appointments, company listings and financing.

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From banking executive to securities chief

Yi spent roughly 35 years at ICBC before becoming chairman of the CSRC in 2019. He was abruptly removed from that role in February 2024, as China’s stock market was struggling through a prolonged downturn and the CSI 300 index had fallen to a five-year low.

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Yi later served on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference’s Economic Committee before authorities announced in September 2025 that he was under investigation.

In April, China’s top anti-corruption authorities expelled him from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and public office by accusing him of accepting gifts and money, allowing relatives to benefit from his influence, and using his positions to assist others with promotions, listing approvals and financing. Those allegations have now moved into the criminal court system.

Multiple former CSRC officials targeted

Yi’s prosecution comes amid a broader series of investigations involving senior figures connected to China’s securities regulator. Former CSRC vice chairman Wang Jianjun was prosecuted for alleged bribery in March. Prosecutors accused him of using regulatory posts to benefit companies and individuals while accepting “an especially large amount” of money. Wang was handed a life sentence.

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The following month, prosecutors brought bribery charges against Wang Huimin, a former CSRC disciplinary official who had headed the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s team stationed at the regulator. Authorities accused him of using positions in banking, regional government and the CSRC to benefit others in areas including company listings, refinancing and promotions.

In July, former CSRC vice chairman Fang Xinghai was placed under investigation for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law,” a standard phrase Chinese authorities use in corruption probes. Analyst say the cases have placed unusual scrutiny on an institution responsible for overseeing the world’s second-largest stock market.

Financial oversight deepens

Chinese social media accounts have also circulated claims that Yi’s case emerged from testimony provided by former Zhejiang official Zhu Congjiu, who previously held senior roles at the CSRC and Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Zhu was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 2024 after a court found that he had accepted more than 105 million yuan in bribes between 2002 and 2022. The Supreme People’s Court said Zhu received a lighter sentence in part because he confessed to offenses investigators had not previously uncovered, admitted guilt and returned illicit proceeds.

Established in 1992, the CSRC oversees China’s securities and futures markets and plays a central role in company listings, market supervision and enforcement. The growing number of former senior regulators under investigation or prosecution highlights the widening reach of Beijing’s anti-corruption campaign into institutions responsible for managing China’s capital markets.