Authorities are once again seeking scapegoats for mainland stock markets’ dismal performance: Police have announced a probe into market malpractice, while state news agency Xinhua has called for efforts to “purify” the country’s capital markets, in addition to carrying remarks from a central bank researcher attributing the global equities rout to an expected rate increase by the US Federal Reserve, Bloomberg reported. The probe include an investigation of people connected to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Citic Securities and respected business magazine Caijing on suspicion of offenses including illegal securities trading and spreading false information, according to Xinhua.