Between May 20 and June 4, 2026, in about half a month, eight senior executives from the Chinese Communist Party’s financial and banking sector were caught up in corruption scandals. Among them were two former aides of princeling Chen Yuan – Wei Wei and Jiang Zhigang, who worked at the China Development Bank.
On June 4, 2026, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the CCP reported on their website that Wei Wei, a former senior expert at the China Development Bank, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently under investigation by the disciplinary inspection and supervision team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the China Development Bank, as well as by the Supervisory Commission of Hebei Province.
Wei Wei, born in Guangzhou in October 1959 with ancestral roots in Heilongjiang Province, graduated in non-metallic geology and exploration from the Sichuan Institute of Building Materials Industry (formerly Southwest University of Science and Technology). He had worked at the China Non-Metallic Minerals Industry Corporation and the National Materials Investment Company before joining the China Development Bank in 1994. Over the years, he held various positions within the bank, including deputy director of the Evaluation Division III, deputy director and director of the Credit Management Department, and director of the Business Development Department. He was later appointed as the Party Secretary and President of the Sichuan Branch of the China Development Bank and held other key positions.
Two days prior, on June 2, 2026, Jiang Zhigang, former director of operations and senior expert at the China Development Bank, was also under investigation. He had served as the President of the Guangxi Branch of the China Development Bank from 2005 to 2006, and later held positions such as Director of the Research and Development Center, Director of the Business Development Department, Executive Deputy Director of the Expert Committee, Director of Planning, and Vice Chairman of the Silk Road Planning Research Center of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
In the past year, several senior experts at the China Development Bank have fallen from grace. For example, Wang Xuedong, a former senior expert at the bank, was investigated in October 2025, and in November of the same year, Qian Mengzheng, a former director of operations and senior expert committee member, was expelled from the CCP.
It is noteworthy that the China Development Bank has been an area of influence and interest for Chen Yuan, a princeling within the CCP. Chen Yuan, the son of CCP elder Chen Yun and a second-generation red, served as the President of the China Development Bank since 1998, and later held the position of Party Secretary as well. Following the bank’s restructuring in 2008, Chen Yuan became the Chairman and Party Secretary of the China Development Bank until April 2013.
In recent years, many of Chen Yuan’s former associates at the China Development Bank have fallen one after another, including Zhang Maolong, former operational director who served as Chen Yuan’s chief steward, and Zhang Linwu, a senior expert at the Evaluation Division II. Hu Huaibang, who succeeded Chen Yuan as the Party Secretary and Chairman of the China Development Bank, was investigated in July 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery in January 2021.
The recent falls of Wei Wei and Jiang Zhigang are part of a pattern of Chen Yuan’s former associates facing repercussions. During Chen Yuan’s tenure as the Party Secretary and President of the China Development Bank, Wei Wei and Jiang Zhigang were respectively promoted to the positions of President of the Sichuan Branch and Guangxi Branch of the China Development Bank.
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