According to Odaily, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has underscored the importance of relentless anti-corruption efforts, particularly focusing on systemic rectification in the financial sector. The session highlighted the challenges in identifying, gathering evidence, and defining new and covert forms of corruption, emphasizing the need to address issues of power abuse, negligence, and unauthorized decisions leading to significant state asset losses.
In recent years, the importance of technological regulation in the financial sector has become increasingly apparent. The high technical barriers present challenges in management, supervision, and accountability, leading to heightened risks of corruption in financial information system construction. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission's team stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has been actively addressing these issues. They have been investigating the corruption case involving Yao Qian, the former director of the CSRC's Technology Regulation Department and Information Center, while also conducting broader systemic rectifications to strengthen the atmosphere of strict oversight and prevent integrity risks.
A notable aspect of Yao Qian's case is the use of virtual currency for power-money transactions, a new challenge not previously encountered in investigations. Unlike physical assets such as cash or gold, virtual currency is generated through cryptographic principles and exists as digital symbols, isolated from the current banking and payment systems. This allows it to bypass national foreign exchange controls and facilitates cross-border exchanges, making detection and evidence collection difficult.
The disciplinary inspection team at the CSRC conducted thorough ideological and political work with Yao Qian, leading to his admission of using his position to benefit others and accepting virtual currency as bribes. They secured crucial evidence, including hardware wallets, and extracted transaction records in compliance with electronic evidence collection requirements, which helped advance the case.
Yao Qian exploited his position to accept substantial bribes from multiple companies, assisting them in information system procurement, project contracting, advancement, fund allocation, and project acceptance. His case further confirmed the high technical barriers and significant integrity risks in procurement processes within the information system construction field. In response, the disciplinary inspection team has advised the CSRC's Party Committee to remain vigilant about these risks and to strengthen the construction and enforcement of relevant systems.
In November of last year, Yao Qian was dismissed from his position and expelled from the Party, accused of engaging in power-money transactions using virtual currency.
