Regulations tightened in financial sector in response to criminal activity

The number of criminal cases involving securities and futures charged by Shanghai procurators in the past five years rank among the top around the country, said authorities on Monday.

From 2016 through July 2021, procurators across Shanghai filed charges against 99 people in 221 financial criminal cases, including the country's first case of falsifying quarterly reports and disclosing important information and the first case of abusing high-frequency trading to manipulate the futures market.

Among the cases, the procurator determined that people in charge of the listed company, such as board directors, senior managers, supervisors as well as intermediaries, were involved in the crime.

In one of the cases released by the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, a man who is chairman of a company that provides financial information, was sentenced to five years and fined 11.8 million yuan (US$1.82 million) for manipulation of the securities market.

Shanghai procurators have begun to step up the crackdown on and prevention of financial crimes. An implementation plan of 24 measures, including the measures mentioned above, were released on Monday to promote the setting up of a capital market judicial system, protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, and effectively prevent and mitigate major financial risks.

In addition, a professional core team composed of procurators across Shanghai has been formed to directly handle and guide major difficult cases.