Yi Huiman, the former chairman of China’s securities regulator, has been formally charged with accepting large bribes, marking a significant development in Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on corruption within the financial sector. Prosecutors in Qingdao filed the case with the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court following an investigation conducted by the National Commission of Supervision.
According to the prosecution, Yi abused his former roles at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), using his influence to secure benefits for others in exchange for substantial illicit gains. While officials did not disclose the exact amount of the alleged bribes or identify the recipients, they characterized the sums involved as “especially large.”
Yi’s career spanned several decades, primarily at ICBC—China’s largest lender by assets—where he ascended from lower ranks to become president in 2013 and chairman in 2016. He took over as chairman of the CSRC in January 2019, a position he held until February 2024. During his tenure, Yi oversaw key reforms in China’s capital markets, including the implementation and expansion of a registration-based system for initial public offerings.
The investigation into Yi began in September 2023 when China’s top anti-corruption agency announced a probe into suspected “serious violations of discipline and law.” He was expelled from the Communist Party and removed from all public office by April 2024. At that time, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection accused him of neglecting his regulatory duties, abusing his authority to facilitate promotions, stock-listing approvals, and bank loans in return for bribes, and accepting gifts and money contrary to party rules.
Yi’s prosecution is part of a broader intensification of anti-corruption efforts within China’s financial sector. Authorities have increasingly focused on banks, brokerages, and capital markets in an effort to reinforce regulatory oversight. This campaign has also included other senior officials: in July, Fang Xinghai, a former vice chairman of the CSRC who was regarded as a pro-reform figure and a key intermediary with foreign investors, was placed under investigation for similar disciplinary violations.
The financial corruption crackdown coincides with Beijing’s heightened examination of Chinese wealth held abroad. In July, new tax regulations came into effect requiring mainland residents to disclose and pay taxes on certain offshore assets and income. Additionally, authorities have intensified scrutiny of offshore insurance policy returns. In August, Chinese legislators began reviewing a cross-border anti-corruption bill designed to enhance the government’s capacity to track and reclaim illicit assets kept overseas.
Yi Huiman’s case underscores the Chinese government’s continued commitment to rooting out corruption among senior financial regulators as part of broader measures to bolster market integrity and strengthen domestic and international investor confidence.