What’s new: Lou Wenlong, a former vice president of Agricultural Bank of China, has been placed under investigation by the country’s top graft busters.
Lou, 66, has been investigated “on suspicion of serious violations in law and discipline,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a brief statement published Thursday on its website. The phrase often refers to corruption.
Lou’s son, Lou Jie, was also taken away by authorities on Wednesday, Caixin learned. Lou Jie is the board secretary of CZB Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of joint-stock lender China Zheshang Bank Co. Ltd.
Lou served as the Agricultural Bank’s vice president between 2012 and 2017, overseeing assets and liabilities, non-performing loans, and agriculture-related businesses. Lou’s resignation from the bank in April 2017 surprised the industry. He has made limited public appearances since then.
Before joining the Agricultural Bank, Lou was a veteran banking regulator who served in the central bank and the former China Banking Regulatory Commission.
Background: Lou is the first former senior executive at a top financial institution to be investigated since China launched a new round of disciplinary inspections on government departments and state-owned financial institutions.
The inspections, initiated in early April, cover 34 bodies including central government ministries, the central bank, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, the biggest state-owned banks and insurers as well as policy lenders.
China’s anti-corruption campaign in the finance industry is gaining momentum with several high-profile cases. On Thursday, China’s top prosecutor announced the arrest of Zhang Hongli, a former senior executive vice president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), on bribery charges. Zhang was probed in November and expelled from the Communist Party last week.
Earlier this month, An Liyan, a retired ICBC executive, was expelled from the party following a corruption probe.
On Wednesday, An Qingsong, a former chairman and party committee chief of the China Futures Association, has been expelled from the party and public office after a graft investigation uncovered misconduct.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
