Former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Yi Huiman, was officially announced to have been implicated in a corruption case related to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in recent years. The Chinese state media, Xinhua News Agency, reported today that Yi Huiman, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Economic Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
According to sources cited by Reuters yesterday, Yi Huiman is suspected of corruption and was taken away for investigation by relevant authorities last week. The investigation is said to focus on whether his relatives obtained improper benefits during his tenure as the chairman of the CBRC.
An account under the name “Asian Finance” stated, “Yi Huiman’s arrest this time is related to his family’s involvement in multiple IPOs and internal corruption within ICBC.”
Public records show that the 61-year-old Yi Huiman, originally from Cangnan, Zhejiang Province, had worked at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for 35 years before taking over as the Party Secretary and Chairman of the CBRC in early 2019, elevating him to the rank of a ministerial-level official. After the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Yi Huiman became a member of the Central Committee of the 20th CPC Central Committee. However, in February last year, he was suddenly removed from his position as the chairman of the CBRC and later joined the CPPCC in June as a member of the 14th National Committee and the Deputy Director of the Economic Committee.
According to reports from the CPPCC website, on June 17 this year, Yi Huiman also attended a symposium organized by the CPPCC.
At the time Yi Huiman was removed from the position of the CBRC chairman in February last year, it coincided with a sharp drop in the Chinese stock market. The official reason for his dismissal was not disclosed at that time. Online rumors had circulated claiming that “A-share delisted company Kangde Xin shareholder Zhu Yongguo had reported to the authorities that Yi Huiman, the former chairman of the CBRC, was suspected of dereliction of duty and crimes.”
In late August 2025, rumors began to spread in the financial circle that Yi Huiman had been taken away to assist in an investigation. According to sources close to the regulatory authorities who spoke to mainland media, around August 29 (last Friday), this rumor was particularly intense in the financial circles of Wenzhou and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, with reports even suggesting that “his family members had been restricted from leaving the country.”
An article published on Sina.com stated that according to financial industry insiders, Yi Huiman has a sister and three brothers, one of whom had “used his identity to mingle in the financial circle in Zhejiang” and even engaged in financing businesses with local companies under the guise of being a “relative of Yi Huiman.” The core clues of Yi Huiman’s investigation may be closely related to the recent corruption cases within ICBC.
Gu Jiangang, the former General Manager of the Asset Management Department of ICBC, was once a close ally of Yi Huiman and was investigated on August 2, 2023. On February 8, 2024, the day after Yi Huiman was removed from the position of the CBRC chairman, official reports highlighted Gu Jiangang’s issues, including “relying on enterprises, blind self-confidence, negligence in management resulting in high investment risks; seeking personal gains with power, abusing public resources for private use, and profiteering under the guise of financial investments.”
Since Yi Huiman took over the CBRC in early 2019, Gu Jiangang’s situation changed, and he was “reduced in power.” With his investigation, discussions about Yi Huiman began to circulate both internally and externally.
Gu Jiangang’s case also implicated China Jianyin Investment Capital’s upheaval, where Ding Wei, the former chairman of China Jianyin Investment Capital, and several officials were taken away at the beginning of 2025. It was said that the private equity projects involved by China Jianyin Investment Capital in the past, which were jointly promoted by Ding Wei, Gu Jiangang, etc., also involved Yi Huiman’s son. When the project was initiated in April 2018, Yi Huiman was still in charge of ICBC. After the project was launched, his son had worked in the relevant company.
Yi Huiman’s hometown of Zhejiang has recently seen its fair share of incidents. In mid-April 2025, after the Central Inspection Group entered Zhejiang, the former top officials of both the Construction Bank and the Bank of Agriculture in Zhejiang were successively investigated within a month. In April, Gao Qiang, the former Party Secretary and President of the Construction Bank’s Zhejiang Provincial Branch, was investigated, followed by Shen Rongqin, the former Party Secretary and President of the Agricultural Bank’s Zhejiang Provincial Branch, on May 30. Shen Rongqin and Yi Huiman are both from the same hometown in Zhejiang.