China’s former securities regulator Liu Shiyu gets light punishment after graft probe
- Anti-corruption watchdog finds 58-year-old used his role for personal gain, broke the rules to help others work in financial system, and accepted gifts
- He has been given two years’ probation, had his civil servant rank downgraded and his illegal gains have been confiscated
Liu Shiyu, a former top Chinese securities regulator, has been removed from a government post and given a relatively light punishment after a five-month probe by the anti-graft watchdog.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said Liu had not upheld the principles of a Communist Party member, made inappropriate public speeches and lacked “political vigilance” and awareness of confidentiality rules.
In a notice posted on its website on Friday evening, the watchdog said Liu had been found to have used his public role for personal gain, violated regulations to arrange for others to work in the financial system or promote them, and accepted gifts to make it easier for his relatives to buy homes.
Before he surrendered himself to the anti-graft agency in May, Liu was briefly the deputy party chief of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. He was previously chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for three years from 2016.
The anti-corruption agency said Liu, 58, had received a lenient punishment because of his “good attitude towards admitting wrongdoing” and was given two years’ probation – meaning he would not lose his party membership. Many Chinese political officials have been expelled from the party for corruption in the past.
The watchdog also downgraded Liu’s civil servant rank, removed his status as a delegate to the party’s 19th national congress held in 2017, and confiscated his illegal gains.