The former head of Chinese state-owned banking giant Everbright Group (光大集團) is under investigation for “severe violations” of the law, authorities said yesterday, deeping an official crackdown on the country’s financial sector.
Li Xiaopeng (李曉鵬) — who previously served as Everbright’s party secretary and chairman — is being probed by Beijing’s anti-corruption watchdog the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
He is “under investigation for suspected severe violations of party discipline and laws,” the commission said in a statement without elaborating.
Photo: AFP
Trained as an economist, Li has spent most of his career in the finance industry. He served in leadership positions at several major Chinese banks, before retiring from the chairmanship at Everbright in March last year.
The commission last month said it would launch an “inspection tour” targeting 30 state-owned enterprises, including Everbright Group and other major players in the financial sector.
The news follows the announcement last week that former Bank of China (中國銀行) chairman Liu Liange (劉連舸) was also under investigation for “suspected severe violations of party discipline and the country’s laws.”
It also comes after the disappearance of Bao Fan (包凡), the billionaire chairman and executive director of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (華興資本), who was later revealed to be “cooperating” in an official investigation.
China Renaissance on Monday suspended trading of its Hong Kong-listed shares, saying the disappearance of its chairman meant it was unable to publish its annual results.
Bao is far from the first high-profile Chinese financier to fall foul of the authorities in recent years as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) leads an aggressive crackdown on alleged corruption.
In 2017, Chinese-Canadian businessman Xiao Jianhua (肖建華) was arrested by mainland authorities, receiving a 13-year jail sentence for corruption in August last year.
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