Anti-Corruption Storm Stirs in Communist Party’s Financial Sector

On April 18, the official media suddenly broke the news that Tian Huiyu, one of Wang Qishan’s top lieutenants and the president of China Merchants Bank, had been removed from his post. Although a prior announcement stated that Tian “will be appointed to other position”, the CCP confirmed four days later that Tian Huiyu had been arrested on suspicion of serious disciplinary violations. This is not CCP’s first major purge of the banking sector in the name of anti-corruption since April.

Jiang Yunming, a former supervisor of Industrial Bank, who had ties with Tian Huiyu during his university days, was also taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on April 22 for investigation. On April 12 and 15, respectively, Wang Ye, the president of the Shenzhen branch of the Construction Bank, and Zhang Xueqing, the vice president, were first reported missing and then announced to be under investigation for alleged disciplinary violations. On April 17, Zhao Weihua, the chairman of Zhongyuan Trust, was also taken away by the Commission for Discipline Inspection. Liu Zhigang, deputy governor of the Sichuan branch of the Bank of Communications, was investigated by the Commission on the 21st of this month.Observers point out that the CCP’s intensive arrests of top officials in the financial sector indicate that Xi Jinping has begun to go after the money bags of certain families of CCP’s kleptocrats. This underscores that the CCP’s internal struggle is further deepening.