December 26, 2011- (Reuters) - China has arrested former executives at two brokerages on charges of insider trading, the securities watchdog said, as part of a crackdown on market malpractice that the new head of the agency has said will be one of his top priorities.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) detailed on its website four cases of market manipulation and insider trading that it has investigated, including two that led to the arrests of former executives at Southwest Securities Co Ltd and Northeast Securities Co Ltd.
The cases are the latest in an increasingly high-profile campaign by CSRC chief Guo Shuqing to stamp out rampant wrongdoing in the country's stock market, which has languished despite the country's nearly double-digit economic growth.
In one case, Qin Xuan, a Northeast Securities manager who advised on the restructuring of a Shenzhen-listed pharmaceutical firm, used the information he obtained in that process to trade the company's stock, and also leaked the information to a friend.
In another case, Ji Minbo, former vice president at Southwest Securities, gained 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) by using information that was not publicly disclosed to trade more than 40 stocks from 2009 to 2011, the CSRC said.
"No matter how concealed illegal practices are, inside traders will eventually be punished by law," the CSRC said in the statement that detailed Qin's case.
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