China prosecutes former regulatory official in graft crackdown

China is ​stepping up a bribery crackdown on regulators ‌with action against a former No.2 ​official accused of accepting ⁠large amounts of money and property while abusing his authority, prosecutors said on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).

Investigations showed ‌that Wang Jianjun, previously vice chairman of the China Securities ‌Regulatory Commission, illegally took the funds ‌and ⁠property, while helping to ⁠benefit others by abusing his position, they added in a statement. Mr. Wang held the role from ​2021 until April ‌2025, when China’s highest anti-corruption agency began its investigation, which widened later that year to his former boss, ‌Yi Huiman, as well.

Mr. Wang, expelled ​in November from the ruling Communist Party, could not immediately ⁠be reached for comment. CSRC backed the decision to investigate Wang, hailing the effort ‌at the time as showing that China would not halt its graft fight, and carry it out “to the end” Zhou Liang, a deputy head of the National Financial Regulatory ‌Administration (NFRA), also faces an investigation into accusations of ​suspected corruption begun in March.

In 2025, the top prosecuting ⁠agency, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, took action against ⁠29,000 individuals, including high-ranking officials, a figure that is more ‌than a fifth higher than a year earlier.