The case of the former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yi Huiman, continues to ferment, with more details of the case being exposed. It was reported that his son, Yi Chenyang, has also been taken in for investigation.
According to a report by the Financial Times on September 9, two sources revealed that Yi Chenyang is an up-and-coming figure in China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC). Recently, due to authorities investigating his father, Yi Chenyang was also taken in by the relevant department. Both CICC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have not yet responded to requests for comments.
Sources mentioned that Yi Chenyang resides in Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission system, Yi Chenyang graduated in 2014 and joined UBS Group before moving to CICC in 2015. Yi Chenyang was involved in the preparation for Ant Group’s $37 billion IPO in 2020.
Yi Chenyang usually keeps a low profile and works in Hong Kong at CICC. In May of this year, he participated in a forum in Hong Kong as the Executive Director of the Investment Banking Division of CICC, discussing the trends and challenges of companies listing in Hong Kong.
On September 6, the Chinese authorities officially announced that Yi Huiman was under investigation. Subsequently, the mainland media outlet Caixin reported that around August 29, Yi Huiman was taken in for investigation and that his brother in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, was also taken in. Meanwhile, Yi Huiman’s son continues his normal work at CICC in Hong Kong.
Public information indicates that the 61-year-old Yi Huiman, who hails from Cangnan, Zhejiang, had a long career at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, serving for 35 years. In early 2019 he took over from Liu Shiyu as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, rising to the rank of a ministerial-level official within the Chinese Communist Party. After the 19th National Congress of the CCP, Yi Huiman became a member of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP. However, in February last year, he was suddenly removed from the position of Chairman of the CSRC. In June of the same year, he became a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee.
An article published in the Sing Tao Daily on September 11 stated that the reason behind Yi Huiman’s investigation points to three circles. Firstly, the “ICBC Circle” where he used to serve as the President. Over the past two years, several top executives of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have been investigated, including former Vice President Zhang Hongli, who worked closely with Yi Huiman. Secondly, the “Alumni Circle” of Yi Huiman’s alma mater, Zhejiang Banking School, with figures like Lin Peng, former discipline secretary of the Agricultural Bank’s data center, and Shen Rongqin, former president of the ICBC Zhejiang branch. Lastly, the “Family Circle” of Yi Huiman, where it is reported that his brother is involved in the Zhejiang financial circle, leveraging his influence to participate in corporate financing. Ding Wei, former chairman of ICBC Capital, was taken away for investigation earlier, which also implicates Yi Chenyang who was working in CICC.
There were signs indicating Yi Huiman’s investigation beforehand, as his hometown of Zhejiang has recently been marred by various incidents.
Since mid-April, the Central Inspection Team of the Communist Party of China stationed in Zhejiang, leading to a string of incidents involving the heads of Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank, and Industrial Bank branches in the province.
The former head of the ICBC Zhejiang branch, Shen Rongqin, who is under investigation, is also from Zhejiang like Yi Huiman. Both graduated from Zhejiang Financial School (now Zhejiang Financial Vocational College) and worked in the ICBC Zhejiang branch early in their careers. In 2000, Yi was transferred from Zhejiang to become the head of the Jiangsu branch, while Shen moved to be the head of the Shandong branch in 2006.
Ding Wei was taken away earlier this summer and has been out of contact since.
A private equity investment project worth hundreds of billions of yuan was planned during Ding Wei’s early days at ICBC Capital. The project was initially introduced by Yi Huiman’s son, who was working at CICC in Hong Kong at the time.
According to reports from Economic Observer, insiders from the financial sector revealed that Yi Huiman has a sister and three brothers, one of whom used his name to navigate the Zhejiang financial circle, even participating in local company financing deals under the guise of being Yi Huiman’s relative.
Insiders stated that the investigation into Yi Huiman includes whether his relatives gained improper benefits during his tenure as Chairman of the CSRC.
Furthermore, during Yi Huiman’s term, over two thousand companies were listed, with a noticeable number coming from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region. This could be related to his status as a Zhejiang native and having worked in Jiangsu for many years, indicating the potential involvement of his family in these listings.