Exclusive: Former Securities Regulator Sentenced to 12 Years

What’s new: A former senior Chinese securities regulator was sentenced to 12 years in prison after a four-year investigation on bribery and insider trading charges, Caixin learned from people familiar with the case.

Xiong Guosen, former head of the Hunan Securities Regulatory Bureau, came under investigation in June 2016. Very few details about his case have been disclosed since prosecutors initiated a public prosecution against him two years ago.

The background: Shortly after Xiong was taken into custody, the head of the discipline inspection team of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) criticized him at a September 2016 integrity education meeting. The official cited citing Xiong’s multiple trips to Hong Kong without reporting his intentions to authorities.

The violations didn’t seem significant, but some speculated that Xiong’s investigation was related to that of Yao Gang, former vice chairman of the CSRC, who was sentenced in 2018 to 18 years in prison for taking bribes worth 69.61 million yuan ($9.9 million) and illegally making 2.1 million yuan of gains from insider trading.

Xiong personally picked valuable Jingdezhen porcelain as gifts that were sent to Yao, according to people familiar with the case.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)