Beijing: The former head of the state-owned Bank of Beijing is under investigation for corruption, the latest in a series of investigations focusing on the country's financial sector.
Yan Bingzhou, who led the bank from its founding in 1996 until his retirement in 2017, is among several senior officials investigated for “serious violation of discipline and law,” according to a notice posted on the city of Beijing's official website on Friday. .
A man uses his mobile phone near the Bank of Beijing logo. The former head of the state-owned bank is under investigation for corruption.credit: AP
He is the latest official to be investigated for corruption as part of President Xi Jinping's decade-long anti-corruption campaign that his critics say has been used in part to remove political rivals.
Yan has not appeared in public for more than six months.
Xi pledged in January to intensify the campaign against misconduct in the financial, energy and infrastructure sectors, a move that observers fear could further stifle the country's economic recovery.
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Another retired financial official, Tang Shuangning, who served as chairman of China Everbright Group, was arrested two months ago on suspicion of embezzlement and bribery.
Others targeted over corruption allegations include a former senior official at China's central bank, Sun Guofeng, who was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for accepting bribes.
Sun Deshun, former head of China's state-owned CITIC Bank, was also sentenced to life in prison for accepting more than US$130 million (US$199 million) in bribes during his career. Another CFO, Zhang Honglei, a former senior executive at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest bank, was also investigated for corruption.
