Investigation by China's corruption watchdog into former ICBC banker signals ongoing clampdown

Zhang Hongli, a former senior executive at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), is currently under investigation by China's top anti-corruption watchdog. This serves as an indication of the ongoing efforts to crack down on corruption within the country's financial sector.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) issued a concise statement on Saturday stating that Zhang is under suspicion of committing serious violations of rules and laws, which often implicates corruption. The specific details were not disclosed. According to S&P Global, ICBC, a state-owned bank, is one of China's "Big Four" banks and the largest lender globally in terms of assets.

Zhang was appointed as the senior executive vice president of the lender from 2010 to 2018. This decision was made based on his extensive international experience and knowledge of global financial markets, as stated by the company. Before his tenure at ICBC, Zhang held senior management positions at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. Furthermore, Zhang was also a previous member of ICBC's Communist Party committee, as reported by the state-run news agency Xinhua. However, in 2018, Zhang resigned from ICBC due to personal reasons, according to a filing made with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Zhang, a former high-flying executive in China's banking sector, is the latest to come under scrutiny by the CCDI. The clampdown has also affected Bao Fan, an esteemed investment banker and tech dealmaker, who disappeared in February. Chinese state media reported in May that Bao has been in the custody of the anti-graft agency since his disappearance.

Fan Bao founder and CEO of China Renaissance speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016.

Mike Blake/Reuters/FILE

Chinese star banker Bao Fan has been detained by the country's top anti-graft body, as reported by state media. This year alone, the commission has already conducted investigations into over a dozen senior executives in the nation's key financial institutions, as revealed in a prior CNN analysis of statements published on the CCDI's website.

Three high-ranking executives in China's financial sector, who have either been investigated or faced charges, are part of the crackdown, as reported by the commission. Experts at CNN believe that this effort to combat corruption reflects Chinese leader Xi Jinping's well-known anti-corruption campaign and aims to consolidate his authority.

In April, Li Xiaopeng, previously the chairman of China Everbright Group, one of the oldest and largest state-owned financial conglomerates in the country, was suspected of committing "serious violations of law and discipline" and was under investigation, as announced by the commission.

In October, Li was officially removed from the Communist Party and subsequently arrested on charges of accepting bribes, as reported by Xinhua.

The commission initiated a similar investigation in March into Liu Liange, the former chairman of Bank of China, the country's fourth largest state-owned bank. Liu resigned earlier in March citing "work adjustments," as stated in a bank filing.

Last month, Liu was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes and illegally granting loans, as reported by Xinhua.

In January, Wang Bin, the former CEO of China Life Insurance, was charged by national prosecutors for accepting bribes and concealing overseas savings. He was initially investigated by the CCDI in January 2022.

In September, Wang received a life sentence after being found guilty by a court of accepting bribes worth tens of millions of dollars and hiding deposits in foreign bank accounts.

Mengchen Zhang contributed to this report.