Yang Kun, 53, a rising star of public finance, is alleged to have paid gambling debts with customer accounts. The Bank of Agriculture looses 4% yesterday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Vice President of the Bank for Agriculture, one of the four large state banks, was arrested on charges of illegal gambling, using clients' money. For more than a week Kun Yang was missing from his office and was detained by the Central Disciplinary Committee of the Communist Party on charges of anti-corruption operations. According to China's economic website Caixin.com, Yang is forbidden to leave the country, even just to go to Hong Kong.

Yang Kun, 53, was considered a rising star in public finance and worked at the Bank of Agriculture since 1981. His monthly salary (in March) was 915,600 yuan (about 116 thousand euros). Unconfirmed reports say that he often made trips to Macao along with some customers of a construction company in Beijing. There he is reported to have lost a lot of money and to have tried to settle the debts through the customer accounts. A close relative seems implicated in the investigation.

The Bank of Agriculture yesterday issued a statement to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, which states that Yang "is collaborating with leading Chinese authorities regarding some investigations," and stressed that "the commitment of the bank, its operations and its financial status are not affected. "Yesterday, however, shares of Bank of Agriculture on the Hong Kong exchange lost 4%.

 

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