Li Quan, former chairman of New China Life Insurance Co Ltd (NCL), has been arrested for suspected embezzlement and bribery, marking him as the latest high-profile figure caught in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign targeting China’s financial industry.
According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Li is accused of serious violations, including severe breaches of Communist Party discipline and abuse of power, following an investigation by the National Supervisory Commission that concluded in late September.
Li is accused of ignoring regulations by accepting invitations that could compromise his impartiality, breaching organisational principles to benefit others in hiring processes, and profiting from inappropriate financial activities through his position at a state-owned enterprise, according to a statement released on Saturday.
“With no regard for legal or ethical boundaries, he shamelessly ‘relied on finance to exploit finance’, engaged in transactions of power and money, used his positional advantages to benefit others in business operations and investment opportunities, and illegally accepted large sums of money,” it said. “He arbitrarily embezzled public property, which caused significant losses to the state and the public.”
Li was expelled from the Communist Party, and his illegal gains have been confiscated, according to the statement.
Born in 1963, Li held various senior roles in the financial sector after obtaining a master’s degree in economics from the People’s Bank of China Graduate School in 1988.