Former Director of the Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Yao Qian, who fell from grace 7 months ago, has been expelled from the Communist Party and removed from office, and has been referred to judicial authorities for investigation. He is accused of engaging in corrupt practices involving the exchange of power and money through virtual currencies.
The official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the Communist Party of China announced on November 20th that Yao Qian, positioning himself as a financial technology expert, supported specific technology service providers for personal gain, treating them as “key nurtured subjects” in hunting for interests.
Yao Qian was accused of abusing regulatory powers such as policy recommendation, formulation, and enforcement, neglecting his responsibilities in technology supervision. He sought undue benefits for others in expanding business of information technology service institutions, procurement of hardware and software, and engaged in power and money transactions through virtual currencies.
He was found to have illegally received valuable gifts such as Maotai liquor and accepted lavish banquets; violated organizational principles by seeking benefits for others in employee recruitment; breached integrity discipline by transferring rental fees that should have been paid personally to regulated entities, improperly borrowing large sums of money from regulated entities, and making illegal investments in enterprises. The amount of illicit gains involved was particularly huge.
According to the announcement, Yao Qian has been expelled from the Party and public office, and will face legal consequences.
Public records show that Yao Qian was born in 1970, holds a Ph.D. in Engineering, and graduated from the Department of Computer Science at Nanjing University.
Yao Qian worked at Yanshan Petrochemical for more than two years in his early career, before joining the China Securities Regulatory Commission in June 1997, where he held positions such as Director of the Information Statistics Department and Deputy Director of the department. In September 2002, he was transferred to the China Securities Registration and Settlement Corporation, where he served as Deputy Chief Director of the Technology Department and Director of the Systems Operations Department.
In December 2010, Yao Qian became the Deputy Director of the Credit Information Center of the People’s Bank of China, later holding positions such as Deputy Director of the Technology Department, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute, and Inspector of the Technology Department.
In October 2018, Yao Qian was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the China Securities Registration and Settlement Corporation.
In December 2019, he returned to work at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, holding positions such as Director of the Technology Supervision Bureau, Director of the Technology Supervision Department, and Director of the Information Center.
Previously, Yao Qian had garnered significant attention from the market. In 2014, the Communist Party’s central bank began to research digital currencies and established a legal digital currency research group, of which Yao Qian was a member.
Yao Qian has published numerous articles and works on topics related to digital currencies, such as “Exploration of Digital Currency,” “Cutting-edge Research on Digital Currency,” “Economic Analysis of Digital Currency,” “Understanding Libra,” “Fintech: Development and Regulation,” and “Credit Big Data Theory and Practice.”
The recent announcement highlighted Yao Qian’s involvement in “engaging in power and money transactions through virtual currencies.”