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PBOC Worker Gets 6-Year Jail Term for Data Leaks, NBS Says Sim Chi Yin/Bloomberg
Members of China's military police force stand guard outside the People's Bank of China in Beijing, China.
Members of China's military police force stand guard outside the People's Bank of China in Beijing, China. Photographer: Sim Chi Yin/Bloomberg
China jailed two officials for leaking classified economic data in its highest profile crackdown on selective disclosure linked to insider trading in the world’s third-biggest equities market.
Wu Chaoming, a researcher with the People’s Bank of China, was sentenced to six years in prison for willfully revealing secret information to 15 people in the securities industry, Li Zhongcheng, a state prosecutor said in Beijing today. Sun Zhen, a former secretary in the country’s statistics bureau, received five years on similar charges.
Four suspects employed in the securities industry have also been indicted, Li said, without naming them.
The punishments were the toughest measure yet in a government campaign to stop selective disclosures that undermine China’s stock markets and give an unfair edge to some investors. Authorities will continue to “strike hard” against such cases, Li said.
“A message is being sent as a deterrent,” said Sean Callow, a Sydney-based senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. who had previously called for China to address the issue. “It’s for anyone who doubts the seriousness with which the issue is being taken.”
