2023 financial anti-corruption inventory: more than 100 cadres have been investigated, and the credit field has become a hard-hit area

At the beginning of the year, a former financial regulatory cadre was investigated.

On January 3, according to the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the State Financial Supervision and Administration and the Jilin Provincial Supervision Commission, a few days ago, the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the State Financial Supervision and Administration and the Jilin Provincial Supervision Commission conducted a disciplinary review and supervision investigation on Gao Fei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Jilin Supervision Bureau of the former China Banking Regulatory Commission, on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law. After a meeting of the party committee of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, Gao Fei was expelled from the party, his benefits were revoked in accordance with regulations, and his disciplinary and illegal gains were confiscated.

In fact, Goofy is not alone. Since 2023, financial anti-corruption has continued to heat up, and the rhythm of "fighting tigers" is quite intensive. According to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, the first financial reporter found that there were more than 100 cadres in the financial system who were subject to disciplinary review that year, involving banking, insurance, securities and other fields.

Nearly 70 percent of the financial cadres surveyed had previously worked in the banking system. Combined with the content of some follow-up party discipline and government sanctions, the credit field is the hardest hit area for financial cadres to violate laws and regulations, and there are frequent situations such as "relying on finance to eat finance" and using loans for personal gain. As the main channel for providing funds, bank credit is a typical area of resource enrichment and power concentration, and cadres are easily "hunted", and supervision in this field is becoming stricter.

Nearly 70 percent of the cadres in the banking system were investigated

After investigation, Gao Fei seriously violated the party's political discipline and colluded with many people to form an offensive and defensive alliance to resist the organization's review and investigation.

In addition, it has been reported that Gao Fei is also accused of taking advantage of his position and the convenience of his power or position to seek benefits for others and illegally accept huge sums of money and property in such areas as contracting bank renovation projects, renting out store houses at high prices, obtaining bank loans, and making personnel arrangements.

The year 2023 that has just passed is a year of frequent anti-corruption in the financial sector. According to the reporter's incomplete statistics, in 2023, there will be 104 cadres in the financial system who will be subject to disciplinary review, far exceeding the more than 70 in 2022. Among them, the banking system has become the hardest hit area of financial anti-corruption. Among the 104 financial cadres surveyed, 70 had previously worked in a bank, accounting for 67.3%.

The largest proportion was among the five major state-owned banks, with 36 cadres under investigation.

The largest number of respondents was Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with a total of 10 people. Among them are two central management cadres, namely Liu Lixian, former member of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Zhang Hongli, former member of the Party Committee and vice president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. In addition, 3 cadres of the head office and 5 cadres of local branches were investigated.

The number of people investigated by Bank of China is 6, the most typical of which is Liu Liange, former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China. On March 31, 2023, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission announced that Liu Liange was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and was undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission. On October 7 of the same year, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission filed a case for review and investigation of Liu Liange's serious violations of discipline and law, and reported a number of violations of law and discipline.

In addition, the number of people surveyed in 2023 by Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank will be 6, 8, and 6 respectively.

In terms of policy banks, there are 13 cadres. The China Development Bank, the Agricultural Development Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of China were investigated by 7, 4, and 2 respectively. Among them, the two central management cadres are from the China Development Bank, namely Zhou Qingyu, former member of the party committee and vice president of the bank, and Wang Yongsheng, former member of the party committee and vice president.

In addition to the five major banks and policy banks, a total of 21 people from joint-stock banks, urban commercial banks, and rural commercial banks were investigated. Among them, 2 of the fallen central management cadres are from the "Everbright Department". Li Xiaopeng and Tang Shuangning, former Party Secretary and Chairman of China Everbright Group Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Everbright Group"), were investigated in April and July respectively, the former served as the Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of Everbright Group from December 2017 ~ 2022, and the latter served as Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of Everbright Group from December 2014 ~ December 2017.

Judging from the investigation of the central management cadres in 2023, except for Xiao Xing, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of China Taiping Insurance Group Co., Ltd., the remaining 7 people have banking backgrounds.

It is worth noting that the illusion that retirement is a "safe harbor" has been shattered again, and according to incomplete statistics from reporters, many of these officials under investigation have been investigated after retirement or close to retirement. Some people were investigated after 6 years of retirement, such as Tang Shuangning, born in 1954, who stepped down as chairman and party secretary of Everbright Group in December 2017. In 2023, Tang Shuangning will be subject to disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law. There was a six-year gap between the time he left office and the time he was investigated.

Similarly, Zhang Hongli, who resigned as vice president of ICBC in 2018 due to "family reasons", was 53 years old. In December 2023, Zhang Hongli was subject to disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law, 5 years after he stepped down.

There are also people who are close to retirement and are investigated. In May 2023, Zhou Qingyu, former member of the Party Committee and vice president of China Development Bank, was investigated on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law. In July 2022, Zhou Qingyu was dismissed by the relevant departments. He is required to retire in September 2022.

In addition, the pace of punishment has been further accelerated. Financial cadres who have been investigated for many years have been disciplined. Zhou Qingyu, for example, was expelled from the party in November after being subject to a disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in May. On December 14, the official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate reported that after the Supreme People's Procuratorate designated jurisdiction, the Jilin Provincial People's Procuratorate made a decision to arrest Zhou Qingyu on suspicion of accepting bribes and using influence to accept bribes in accordance with the law.

The credit sector has been hit hard

With the continuous efforts of financial anti-corruption, corruption in the banking system continues to surface, and the power-for-money transactions in credit approval have become a high-incidence area of corruption and crime.

For example, in the report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, Liu Liange was accused of meddling in credit projects in violation of regulations and issuing loans illegally, causing major financial risks. Interfering with the lending of funds in violation of regulations, and privately retaining confidential information. At the same time, he "relied on finance to eat finance", took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others in loan financing, project cooperation, etc., and illegally accepted huge amounts of property.

Li Xiaopeng was accused of abusing his power for personal gain for a long time, "relying on finance to eat finance", taking advantage of his position to seek benefits for others in loan financing and business contracting, and illegally accepting huge amounts of property.

A number of former presidents of provincial branches of major state-owned banks have also been placed on file for investigation over credit problems. For example, Li Dajun, former secretary of the party committee and president of the Yunnan branch of the Bank of Communications, was accused of "managing loans and eating loans" and illegally approving the issuance of loans and issuing financial bills, the amount of which was particularly huge. Zhang Dongxiang, former secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Jiangxi branch of the Bank of China, was accused of interfering with and interfering in the approval and issuance of loans in violation of regulations.

One of the main manifestations of using loans for personal gain is the improper exchange of money with loan customers. The reporter noticed that in the reports of the above-mentioned high-ranking officials, they all involved long-term power-for-money transactions. For example, Liu Liange was accused of illegally accepting gifts and money, entering and leaving private clubs, accepting ski and travel arrangements, and borrowing the vehicles subject to management for a long time. Zhou Qingyu was also reported that he used his power to seek benefits for others, and that specific related parties accepted property from the other party and wantonly accepted gifts and gifts.

Some of the cases that have been disclosed on the China Judgments Network can also give a glimpse of the details of this kind of power-for-money transaction. For example, in the case disclosed this year, Zhang Keli, former secretary of the party committee and president of the Hunan branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, accepted bribes of more than 1 million yuan and approved a loan of 300 million yuan in violation of regulations. From 2011 to 2014, in order to obtain Zhang Keli's help in loan matters and maintain the relationship between the two, Zeng gave Zhang Keli a total of 1.04 million yuan in cash nine times. In May 2013, Zeng asked Zhang Keli to help him apply for a loan from ICBC for the second phase of the Jiahe Mingdu project, and Zhang agreed and arranged for Li Jiangtao, then general manager of the real estate business department of ICBC, to take care of him. In September of the same year, the second phase of Jiahe Mingdu project obtained a loan credit line of 300 million yuan from ICBC, and then actually withdrew 185 million yuan.

The root cause behind the use of loans for personal gain may lie in internal control issues. According to an article previously released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission, at present, the mainland's financing structure is dominated by indirect financing, and most of the company's funds come from bank loans. Bank credit, as the main channel for providing funds, is a typical area of resource enrichment and power concentration, and cadres are easily "hunted." At present, judging from the authorization arrangements for various business lines and management matters of commercial banks, the "top leader" of a branch is the ultimate person responsible for human rights, administrative rights, and financial rights; although there is a collective deliberation mechanism internally, under the circumstance that the "top leader" can directly decide or influence the positions, salaries, and positions of employees, the collective decision-making mechanism of some party committees is a mere formality, forming a "hall of words".

However, with the continuation of the strong regulatory posture, credit violations may gradually decrease in the future. Recently, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, provincial bureaus and sub-bureaus have issued a number of regulatory fines, and a number of commercial banks have been punished by the regulatory authorities for violating laws and regulations in the loan business. Bank of Dalian Co., Ltd. was fined 5.5 million yuan for issuing loans to microfinance companies in excess of regulatory limits and providing financing for real estate projects in violation of regulations. Dujiangyan Jindu Village Bank Co., Ltd. was fined 4.5 million yuan for illegally carrying out interbank business to provide financing for real estate development enterprises, illegally issuing working capital loans for fixed asset investment, and failing to perform due diligence in the "three inspections" of loans. According to information from the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, in the first three quarters of this year, a total of 2,978 banking and insurance institutions were punished, 5,512 responsible persons were punished, and a total of 6.3 billion yuan was fined and confiscated.

(Xi reporter Zou Zheng also contributed to this article)