CHINA’S top anti-graft watchdog said Friday that Cao Jian, a former securities regulator responsible for vetting initial public offerings (IPOs), “seriously violated disciplines and laws” and had been removed from Communist Party membership and his public role. Cao, 55, formerly deputy head of the IPO review center of the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market, accepted gifts, traded stocks using other people’s accounts and leaked confidential information, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on its website. Cao, who also had a stint at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) as a member of the securities issuance review committee, also made huge, illegal gains from buying stakes in listing candidates, the CCDI said. Cao is among several senior officials in the securities industry who have been investigated in recent months. Last month, Zhu Yi, general manager of investment banking business at Guotai Junan Securities Co., was probed on suspicion of serious violations of law. Zhu worked with Cao when they served as members of the main board public offering review committee of the CSRC from May 2012 to September 2017. Cao joined the Shanghai bourse in 1997 and has been dispatched to the CSRC for IPO vetting many times. (SD-Agencies) | 