What’s new: Zhang Jianjun, who served as president of the central bank’s Shenzhen branch, is being investigated by China’s top corruption watchdog.
Zhang is under investigation for suspected severe violations of law and Communist Party discipline — official jargon for graft — according to an announcement Thursday from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Zhang served at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for more than two decades. He worked there from 1995 to 2016, according to a 2018 announcement by property firm Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd.
Zhang was appointed a vice chairman of the Hong Kong-listed developer in 2018, but resigned from the position the next year due to unspecified health reasons, and started to work as a senior consultant instead.
The background: China has stepped up its anti-graft campaign over the past few years, with numerous officials, including central bankers and other financial regulators, getting swept up in the effort.
Among them were Fan Yifei, a former PBOC deputy governor who has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes, and Liu Zhangjun, a previous banking official who was once in charge of combating illegal fundraising.
Related: Watchdog Slams Rampant Graft at China Development Bank
Contact reporter Zhang Yukun (yukunzhang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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