Ex-CIRC head to face criminal charges over corruption
The former head of China’s insurance regulator is to face criminal charges over alleged corruption.
Xiang Junbo was head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) until his dismissal in April, following an investigation for “serious disciplinary violations”.
A statement issued this week by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said that Mr Junbo had been expelled from the ruling Communist party and handed over to prosecutors.
The CCDI has not given any indication of when Mr Junbo’s case will go to trial but it has listed all of his alleged offences, including a charge of “abuse of approval and supervision”, which has been interpreted as overlooking insurers’ misconduct.
Mr Junbo is the most senior regulatory official to be embroiled in the anti-corruption crackdown led by Chinese premier Xi Jinping, which has focused predominantly on the insurance sector. The crackdown has also looked to curb what was seen as excessive risk-taking by many insurers in terms of investment decisions and acquisitions, as well as some of the investment vehicles sold to consumers.
Meanwhile the interim head of CIRC has said that he will treat all insurers fairly, from established players to new entrants, and will prevent any “special companies” forming, according to a report from Beijing-based media organisation Caixin.
Chen Wenhui, the vice-chairman of CIRC, also said that the role of the commission is to regulate and not to engage in enterprise work – comments designed to distance the regulator from its former head.
He also said that insurance products are primarily a consumption good and not an investment product, reflecting the regulator’s aim to restrict the sale of higher risk life insurance products to consumers.
The anti-corruption drive has also ensnared many other senior officials. This week, the former mayor of Tianjin Municipality and former acting chief of the Communist Party, Huang Xingguo, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for taking bribes worth more than CNY40m.
A court in north China’s Hebei province also fined Mr Huang CNY3m for his crimes. The court ruled that the corruption took place between 1994 and 2016, and involved land deals and political favours for friends in return for money and other benefits.
His sentence could have been worse though, given that the judge took into consideration his confession and cooperation with investigators as well as the return of all his illegal gains, when handing down the sentence.
