(Yicai) Sept. 8 -- Yi Huiman, former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has become the 41st senior Chinese official placed under investigation since the start of the year amid the country’s stepped-up anti-graft campaign.

Yi has been under investigation on suspicion of serious disciplinary violations and illegal activities since Sept. 6, China's top anti-corruption bodies announced on the same day. That brings the number of ministerial-level officials being probed to eight so far this year.

The other seven are Jin Xiangjun, former governor of Shanxi province, Lan Tianli, former chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wang Lixia, former chairwoman of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jiang Chaoliang, ex-secretary of Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Qi Zhala, former chairman of Xizang Autonomous Region, Liu Hui, former chairwoman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Bi Jingquan, ex-director of the National Medical Products Administration.

Liu was the only one put under investigation after retiring. Three were incumbent heads of provincial governments and three others held positions in the National People’s Congress or the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference prior to their probes.

A former banker, Yi is the third senior CSRC official to be probed this year after Wang Huimin, former head of the its discipline inspection and supervision team, was put under investigation in March and ex-Vice Chairman Wang Jianjun in April.

Yi was the ninth chairman of the CSRC from January 2019 to February 2024. Since last year, he has been deputy director of the Economic Committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC.

During Yi’s tenure as CSRC chairman, China’s capital markets underwent a major regulatory and structural overhaul, including the launch of Shanghai’s Star Market and the Beijing Stock Exchange, a phased rollout of the registration-based initial public offering regime, tougher securities law and enforcement, liberalization of foreign investor access, and a broad regulatory tightening of fintech and internet platforms.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev