Probe said to find evidence of insider trading by Citic Securities

A probe by authorities into China’s largest brokerage, Citic Securities, has found evidence that the firm used advanced knowledge of state-directed share purchases made during the government’s attempted stock market rescue to execute trades that would benefit the firm, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. Citic Securities was one of the brokerages drafted in the government-led rescue efforts, which have included RMB1.5 trillion (US$235 billion) of stock purchases since June, according to a September 7 estimate by Goldman Sachs. Seven Citic Securities executives, including President Cheng Boming, are currently under investigation alleged insider trading and other offenses, according to state media.