After former Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yi Huiman, fell from grace, various inside stories have been constantly exposed on the mainland Chinese internet. Reports suggest that Yi Huiman’s downfall was revealed by Zhu Congjiu, the former Deputy Governor of Zhejiang Province who narrowly escaped the death penalty, and also implicated were the directors of six major banks’ Zhejiang branches. Some mainland Chinese articles question who promoted Yi Huiman in the first place.
On September 6, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China announced that Yi Huiman, Vice Chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law” and is currently under investigation.
At nearly 61 years of age, Yi Huiman had a long career at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for 34 years, holding positions such as President, Party Committee Secretary, and Chairman. In January 2019, he took over as the Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission from Liu Shiyu. However, in February 2024, he was suddenly removed from his position as Chairman of the Commission, and in June of the same year, he became a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and Deputy Director of the Economic Committee.
Recent posts from public accounts such as “Qianyi Headlines” and “Scholar Gathering” pointed out that Yi Huiman’s investigation was not sudden but was brought to light by Zhu Congjiu, a former senior official of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and former general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, who later served as Deputy Governor of Zhejiang overseeing finance for a decade. Zhu Congjiu was sentenced to life in prison on November 19, 2024, accused of illegally accepting bribes totaling over 105 million yuan.
The revelations indicate that at Zhu Congjiu’s trial, which initially seemed to be a standard case of “bribery over a hundred million leading to the death penalty,” he managed to receive a “life imprisonment” sentence after confessing and providing a list of names. This list triggered a series of investigations into the directors of six major banks’ Zhejiang branches and involvement of dozens of platform funds and private securities firms, resulting in the “collective disappearance” of top executives from China Jianyin Capital.
An individual close to the case’s handling at the Securities Regulatory Commission disclosed, “His confession is crucial, with deep content and wide implications, constituting a case of redeeming oneself through confession.”
The aforementioned article’s author suggested that Zhu Congjiu’s case was not merely a case of “confession for reduced punishment” but rather an “structural explanation” that exposed a system of interconnected power, finance, and resources. In this system, some individuals approved funds while obtaining shares, others sat at conference tables guiding resource alignment but had already planned project routes beneath the table, and some oversaw regulatory positions while allowing relatives to use “external institutions” to create pathways. This was not mere corruption but “structural rent-seeking.”
According to previous reports from mainland Chinese media, around August 29, Yi Huiman and several family members were taken away for investigation. Before Yi Huiman’s investigation, several of his former classmates from the Zhejiang Banking School where he studied had fallen from power at various times.
As early as August 2023, Gu Jiangan, former General Manager of the Asset Management Department of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Industrial Bank Wealth Management, was investigated. Gu Jiangan had been under Yi Huiman’s supervision in the asset management line at Industrial and Commercial Bank, indicating a close relationship between the two.
After Yi Huiman’s downfall, several financial insiders informed Caixin that both Yi Huiman and Gu Jiangan had worked at the internationally renowned brokerage firm China Jianyin Capital or its subsidiaries. Gu’s investigation may be related to an abrupt 30 billion yuan outsourced private equity investment at Industrial Bank with some procedural flaws but a continuous “green light,” possibly involving China Jianyin Capital.
Several key figures including Ding Wei, former Chairman of China Jianyin Capital, and core staff members like An Yuan were taken away in early summer in 2025, subsequently becoming “unreachable” by outsiders.
An article from the public account “Zhongzheng Jinyong” raised doubts about who raised Yi Huiman to his positions. Having gone from Vice President in 2013 to Bank President within a year and subsequently becoming Chairman of the world’s largest bank (ICBC) in another year, followed by serving as Chairman of the Securities Regulatory Commission in 2019, Yi Huiman’s rapid rise over a decade begs the question of who continuously promoted him.
Public records show that Yi Huiman is a candidate member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and a member of the 20th Central Committee. According to official Chinese media, members of the Central Committees of the 19th and 20th Communist Party Congresses were personally approved by Xi Jinping.