What’s new: Cao Jian, a former senior Shanghai Stock Exchange official in charge of listing reviews, faces prosecution for allegedly taking bribes, China’s top graft buster said late Friday.
Cao, 55, was the deputy chief responsible for vetting initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Nasdaq-like STAR Market. Cao was placed under investigation in June. A subsequent search of his home found more than $30 million in cash.
Cao had frequently accepted banquet invitations and gifts, used others’ accounts for stock trading, leaked confidential information, took bribes and made illegal gains by investing in publicly traded companies, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said.
Cao was expelled from the Communist Party and removed from public posts, and his illegal earnings were confiscated, the commission said.
The background: Cao is among several senior officials in the securities industry who have been investigated in recent months. Last month, Zhu Yi, general manager of investment banking business at Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd., was probed on suspicion of serious violations of law.
Zhu worked with Cao when they served as members of the main board public offering review committee of the China Securities and Regulatory Commission (CSRC) from May 2012 to September 2017.
Cao joined the Shanghai bourse in 1997 and has been dispatched to the CSRC for IPO vetting many times. Caixin estimated based on public records that Chen was involved in IPO reviews of 471 companies, of which 411 won approval.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (hello@caixin.com)
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