[Epoch Times, May 20, 2022]Sun Guofeng, the former director of the Monetary Policy Department of the Central Bank of the Communist Party of China, has been sacked. Foreign media reported that Sun was suspected of leaking official economic statistics in exchange for personal gain. Lu media reported that he may use inside information to participate in market transactions for profit.
On May 18, 50-year-old Sun Guofeng was investigated for “serious violation of discipline and law”. He has worked in the central bank system of the CCP for more than 20 years. In August 2018, he was appointed as the director of the central bank’s monetary policy department and was removed from his post in May this year.
A senior central bank official is under investigation for allegedly leaking official economic statistics after Beijing criticized the central bank for not being sufficiently aligned with the central bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 19, people familiar with the matter said.
The probe is focused on whether Sun shares macroeconomic indicators, such as measures of inflation, with individual bond traders at certain financial institutions in exchange for personal gain, the people said.
On September 26 last year, the eighth round of inspections by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China inspected 25 party organizations in financial units including the Central Bank and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. The investigation of Sun Guofeng was one of the results of the tour.
The inspections focused on the relationships between these government agencies and private sector actors, including retail investors and corporations, and a significant number of people were arrested, including the former president of China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd.
A protégé of current central bank governor Yi Gang, Sun Guofeng has been heavily involved in reforming the central bank for years to keep it up to date with modern finance, according to reports. Sun Guofeng opposed the austerity stance of aggressively loosening monetary policy, while the Communist Party leadership urged more measures to support the weakening economy.
People close to Sun Guofeng said he had previously believed that credit easing would only fuel speculative bubbles and could lead to excessive capital outflows during periods of sluggish economic growth.
The first clues to Sun Guofeng’s problems came late last year, when investigators from the Communist Party’s central discipline inspection department received reports of allegations of sexual harassment, the people said. It is unclear whether the current investigation into Sun Guofeng’s work at the central bank will bring similar charges.
According to Caixin.com, on the morning of May 18, when Sun Guofeng arrived at the central bank, he was notified that he was dismissed and under investigation. On the evening of the same day, the official announcement that Sun was under investigation showed that the investigation against him should have been going on for some time.
According to reports, 2021 can be described as an eventful year for Sun Guofeng. One thing is that Sun Guofeng arranged for his wife, who had worked in the art troupe in his early years, to serve as a middle-level cadre in China Central Depository & Clearing Co., Ltd., and was reported. Another incident is that after the “November” last year, Sun Guofeng was reported by a social worker working in the central bank with his real name because of his personal style, and some other personal style and personnel problems were involved.
Sun Guofeng was investigated, and a senior person from the central bank said that he may use inside information to participate in market transactions for profit, which violated the red line of the law. If it is finally verified, this will be a scandal the central bank has not had for many years.
Responsible editor: Xu Menger#