Former China Development Bank president is under anti-corruption probe

Audio By Carbonatix

BEIJING (AP) — A former president of the China Development Bank was put under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of party discipline and the law, the country's top anti-graft watchdog announced on Sunday.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a one-line statement that Ouyang Weimin was being investigated by it and the National Commission of Supervision, without offering more details.

According to state media China Daily, Ouyang began his career and joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1986. He spent much of his earlier career at the People’s Bank of China, it said.

Ouyang served as the vice-governor of Guangdong, an economic powerhouse near Hong Kong, and was appointed as the president and deputy party secretary of the China Development Bank in 2019, China Daily reported. He stepped down as president in 2023, it added.

The China Development Bank, founded in 1994, is a state-funded and state-owned development finance institution. According to its website, it is directly overseen by the State Council and its work aims to support China's economic development in key industries and underdeveloped sectors.

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping's rule, China has run an anti-corruption campaign that also saw officials and military generals being targeted. Critics say the drive has been used partly to remove Xi’s political rivals.